Well, I am amazed. I mean it, really. Social Marketing – I understand the possibilities, but am amazed at the actual and implied substance that is available en mass.

Short story, there is a lot of hype. There is a lot of true potential. True story, if you want to build a long term marketing plan you’d better include social media / social marketing (or whatever it will be called tomorrow).

-Mists-

twitter power (Joel Comm) is a basic how-to book on using Twitter together with other New Media methods to reach new clients. The book specifically addresses the ins and outs of Twitter and best practices (it is detailed [practical]). Read this book if you want to move forward in marketing (print media is dying on the vine).

Half way through the book, trying to apply my highlighted portions, I had to stop to deal with customers. One visit today, a short explanation and I basically got the blank check go-ahead from this customer. Granted, his blank check isn’t six digits blank, or even four digits blank, but blank nonetheless. He got the concept, even though I told him I only had a few usable methods of Social Marketing so far.

Upon beginning to read Joel’s book, as the light shown on my path, I started looking deeper into this thing—Social Marketing. What began as a search for more focused SEO, broadened into a deep valley of vague ideas. As straight-forward as the book twitter power is, a little self study via the new media / social media / social marketing, lead into a mist laden valley of unsurety.

What I found was a new society of MRR and PLR purveyors – “everything you need for $1997″. All of this wrapped or re-wrapped in his/her own personal embellishments. Chopped, cut, repackaged, ghost written, and fully pre-hyped to the point of guaranteed money-back success! Well, Joel seems to be more balanced, of real substance than these hangers-on.

Once I started down the road I found, I could not believe what I found. There are so many people trying to break into this it is astonishing. The first thing I noticed was people following me on twitter. OK!? Who is this guy anyway – go look – he’s a Social Marketer, or a consultant/trainer of same (He will make you rich! – at a cost howbeit). Then another follower, and another, and etc. OK, so right now there are 20 following me. Why! I am not doing anything, or saying anything that is of value to anybody yet. I still am setting things up and my tweets consist of tests of ping.fm, wordpress plugins, and etc. These people are following 19,000 others (or really 10 and filtering the rest) and are being followed by 17,320 (who are really following 10 and filtering the remainder). They follow me so I will follow them, and I do too. I am following 12 but only 5 of those actually tweet anything at all. I went and looked at who they presented themselves to be, judged what I saw and said, “OK, I’ll give her a chance, I’ll give him a try…” I want to find, really, I do.

Now, as I watch these people I see a pattern, some are here mostly for fun. Some are here mostly to push something, and really don’t have anything or any substance to offer that they personally built (enter MRR/PLR). Oh, well! When eating watermelon you have to spit out the seeds.

LESSON LEARNED: twitter power, page 75, just before #3 -”you still have to pay your dues.” Muddle through the mists to find the crystal clear stream full of fat Brookies, a mayfly hatch just happening… and, oh yes, a Dr. Pepper in your pack.

*you did notice the word methods didn’t you, are twitter, facebook, your blog, et al, means or a methods? Know the answer to that and you know a lot! I have met people who owned an impressive set of tools, and I have met others who had impressive results in spite of their tools.

Tags: BOOK: twitter power by Joel Comm, Books Read by Scott Gregson
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1. YOU NEED TO BE SAVED:
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3)

2. YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

3. CHRIST HAS PROVIDED FOR YOUR SALVATION:
“Who (Jesus) His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24)

4. YOU MUST ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)

5. YOU NEED TO ACCEPT CHRIST TODAY:
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:2)

“As the Holy Ghost saith, today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:7-8)

To receive Jesus Christ as your saviour bow your head and tell Him that you are a sinner, and then ask Him to save you. He says He will… “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Now, thank Him for what He has done.

After you are saved you should find a Bible Believing Church to attend. God cares for you, and He established His church to care for your spiritual needs. You should also be baptized now that you are saved. The longest that anyone in the Bible waited to get baptized after they were saved was three days. The Lord Jesus Christ would be well pleased if you waited no longer than that!

Tags: Books Read, How To, The Bible by Scott Gregson
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I have been trying to upload new matching photos of myself to both twitter.com and Facebook.com (I am @scottgregson on twitter.com). Evidentally, twitter is experiencing growing pains. I have been trying to upload a background image and profile photo for hours. The profile image finally uploaded, but the background image is stuck at an intermediate version. Oh well, it will do for a while.

In the process of trying to teach myself marketing I am re-studying SEO. I am thinking that, with the internet being the way it is, it is a better investment to learn the non-tradition / high-tech methods than the traditional. I tried the ‘Chamber of Commerce’ route, and that may well work in the future, but I only found it presented to me the same problem I personally have always faced. That problem isn’t present with internet marketing. I am a one-on-one person, though I can do the one-on-audience, I do not do the one-on-crowd very well. Anyway, after reserving 2 books at the library, have to wait my turn on those, went to Barnes and Noble and purchased Joel Comm’s book twitter power.

The book is written with a few chapters introduction / selling and then the actual application. I am at the beginning of the actual application and ran into the trouble with twitter’s server/system issues. I am applying as I read, actually following directions – I must have a fever or something.

I will write more on the book as I progress through it. I will not review / critique the book per se, I’ll just report on the progress. So-far the book is easy to read. Just into the meat of the book so I cannot say much about the insight of the work yet.

I said I am studying Marketing. This is in contrast to Sales/Selling. These are related but not the same. If you are a business owner you would do well to understand the difference. The two work together (or should) but are different in too may ways to be thought of as the same thing. Joel’s book is really on marketing. For sales, read the book Selling From The Heart by Steven Lloyd. There is another book by that name, Steven Lloyd’s is great! At this point in my business I cannot be purely a salesman, I must be a marketer, salesman, and other things. When you read either book you can get a pool of tools to use. You must adapt what you read to your business.

If you need sales advice and devote more than 15 hours a week to real sales read Steven Lloyds book linked above. Actually, there is something there for anybody trying to build any business relationship – you just have to digest it properly and it will bring profitable results.

If you have a product or service that needs to be marketed get an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) related book like Joel Comm’s. Note that the book itself is not about web page SEO but is about internet marketing and specifically using twitter to full advantage. This is really what web page SEO boils down to—effective marketing. It will change what you do in web page SEO. -that summary will surely confuse someone, and that, after all, is my trademark…

Tags: BOOK: twitter power by Joel Comm, Books Read by Scott Gregson
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