(originally post at Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation)

For me there has been three significant shifts in the marketing world, that all come together to one outstanding result.

The first is the ability for people like myself, to do what they are passionate about in creating their own careers. There has never been a time that so many people could connect, share, inspire, and lead. Creating a global community, and opening doors for new business. Which leads us into the second change

Information access, this has to be one of the greatest opportunities for marketers (and people). We now live in a world that you can tap into a conversation that is going on about a particular  brand/person/business. In addition, we can have more informed discussions about products or service, and find out what the end consumer is wanting/needing.

All of which leads us into what is the greatest change -

The ability to Give Gifts, without any expectation of return. This is not just because we are being nice, but because there has been a mental shift in the way business/marketing can be done. You write a blog, that’s your gift and people (myself included) start to connect with you over the material you’re providing. However, we may not  – and that would be ok. You have the ability to test out multiple ideas, and see which ones take off, and which ones don’t. You’ll move forward with the successful ideas, and see what made the other ideas not successful, learning and growing in the process.

Giving Gifts, The Ability To Test Multiple Ideas, And Truly Contribute To Peoples Lives – That’s The Biggest Change (but it’s not just in marketing)

If you have ever been in a marketing or advertising class you would have heard of the “elevator pitch”

The concept behind this is to get people thinking. “When you meet someone, imagine you’re in a elevator, and you only have 30 seconds until they’re going to get off – Make your pitch fast, punchy and powerful.”

But with the this model comes one problem – You have a captive audience! It’s not like the music is any good

So here is a new analogy for when you don’t have a captive audience locked up

“The Walk To The Elevator”

You have less time, only about 10 seconds. You don’t have a captive or even knowing audience, as they are walking towards something. And you do still need to be engaging, and standout against everything else for that 10 seconds.

So, how do you deliver a “walking to the elevator” concept (not pitch, there is not enough time)

You plan, know what your going to say, and then stop at nothing when the opportunity arrives. Take control, lead, and be genuine in your passion as you deliver.

Those 10 seconds will take hours of prep or even years. But when you’re ready,  you won’t even need 10 seconds.

When you’re getting married, one of the most important things  is “The” dress

When you’re getting ready for vacation, the clothes you take will determine what you can or can’t do

And for most people in business, they feel what they’re wearing will be the difference maker

But is it? And more importantly, Should it be?

When a person comes into an office, and doesn’t have the money to purchase the $1,000 suit,  Do they know less than the person who does?

And are they the worse choice?

With a large majority of business being done online, businesses should be caring less about what their people are wearing, and more about how they can empower them.

As defined in the New Oxford Dictionary a gift is:

1) a thing given willingly to someone without payment

or

2) a natural ability or talent

So what’s your gift? (referring to the second reference from Oxford)

My gift isn’t getting businesses to use Facebook

Nor is it getting people interested in using social networking

My gift is the ability to teach and mentor people towards their goals. If those goals align with using Facebook, or Foursquare, than that is what I talk about.

If they don’t, I don’t! Because my gift is far greater than any individual channel.

So again, what’s your gift?

Although we try not to “judge a book by the cover” people inevitably do.

We see a police car outside a house and think “Wow, wonder what’s going on there?”

Nothing could be going on there, the police officer may know someone in the house, and just stopping to say “Hi.”

Or, when someone enters into a business networking group wearing jeans and a t-shirt for the first time.

Again, we think “Guess this person isn’t that successful.” That might be the furthest thing from the truth – Maybe they just like jeans and t-shirts, or it was their only option (Watch The Pursuit of Happyness)

The same happens when someone looks at your marketing efforts – especially online where there are so many different options.

We see what we want to see – The strategy then becomes to be authentic and consistent. That doesn’t mean to always talk about the same thing, but always offer the same feeling. So when someone reads one post, tweet, update from you – you’re setting yourself up for success.

How long will social media last is a question asked by many who view it per-media: i.e.

How long will Facebook last?

Looking back, these are some interesting figures

The first printing press was developed in 1440 in the Roman Empire by Johannes Gutenberg (Wikipedia source).

Although different today, the idea of mass production of a printed material remains the same.

The radio was invented in the late 1800’s (Wikipedia). Again, those first radio stations are long gone, but the ideas and concepts of transmitting audio sounds across airwaves remain.

Finally, and one of the youngest in the core group, the first television station in the US goes live in 1928 (Thank you Wired). Different in function today, but similar in concept.

So how long will Facebook last? I honestly don’t know, but this I do

The philosophies of sharing thoughts, ideas and referrals to a group of individuals who are of similar minds will remain long after Facebook is no-longer relevant.

And that’s how long social media will last.

Today’s front page news on The SOCIAL CMO blog was Chris Brogan talking about “Social media, and how businesses can use it.” It’s an excellent watch (included bellow) but there where a few key points that I took away, and would like to share them.

1) Unlike the days of old where you had separation from those who  worked in the business, and those who marketed the business – We are now dealing with a platform where everyone can effectively market the business, and gain costumer feedback to better work in the business.

2) This works with B2C B2B or any other combination of business, as they all have one thing in common -  humanity

3) An interesting point was that one business put social media onto every desk, empowering their employees much like when companies started putting phones on every desk

4) You have to integrate between what your doing in the real world, and what your doing in the online world. It’s called a Win Win!

Have a watch, and feel free to ask questions

That’s a line you may be hearing a lot in the last couple of months – people saying

“Hi, my name is blank blank, and I am a social media expert”

I think to myself, that’s great, someone else who is into social media, that I may be able to get some ideas from, and bounce ideas off of.

Until I am hit with the true meaning of “EXPERT”

What they really should have said was:

“Hi, my name is blank blank (unless they are also changing that to sound cooler – because Who Doesn’t?)

and I am a person who has a facebook profile, have seen a video on YouTube, and even posted a tweet before.”

That’s a more honest line – and sadly, that’s the norm. I am not saying they don’t know how to use these tools – in fact, some are great at them. But what they don’t know is how it applies to business, and how this industry is constantly changing.

So how can You tell if the person sitting across from you is an “Expert” or at minimum “Knowledgeable” ? Ask a few of these:

1) How long have you been using social media – and be specific?

2) What is your approach / strategy  to social media?

3) How often do you update your knowledge?

4) What / Who do you take inspiration from? (this will tell you if they follow industry leaders, or not)
Examples
- Seth Godin
- Mitch Joel
- Chris Brogan
- Scott Monty
(Google what they say)

5) What tools do you use to measure success?

6) What successes do you have?

7) Who have you worked with? (if not willing to share) What industries do you commonly work with? (Although not a great sign of “Expert”, this tells you if they have worked in Your industry before)

8 ) What do you personally use for business?

Finally

9) Can you show me a few examples / explain a few things?

Ask a few of those questions, or come up with a few of your own, and you’ll be better equipped for when the next “Social Media Expert” comes along.

Yesterday, I received in the mail a clients invoice payment. It was on time, and for the full amount. This, and I am happy to say, is a normal thing.

However, attached with the payment was a small postcard – And it read

“Dear Josh,

Thank you for your time and patience. This is only the beginning.”

Wow – it was amazing how something small, could be so remarkable.

This is exactly what I, and my company strive for in every aspect of what we do. And if successful, we’ll have people talking about it – just like I am today.

Don’t forget that in life, nothing is bigger than the small stuff!

I don’t often talk about the world of mobile phones, as it’s such a large playground.

But today, I’m going to break from my norm, and talk a little bit about the phones that we have, and why as a business owner it’s more important than ever to recognize this.

Today, Google announced that it’s Nexus One would now be available to ship to Canada, with two versions

One on Rogers,

The other on Wind Mobile (a cool wireless provider, based currently in southern Ontario, and Alberta)

What does this mean for the consumer?

Well, we now have access to the “Big 3″ of smart phones -

Blackberry

iPhone

and now Google’s Nexus One

So we have more choice, and people have the ability to choose the phone that will best work for them. For some, it’s a Blackberry or nothing else. Others have come to love their iPhones, and won’t give them up. However, with the biggest online competitor taking a  true step into the cell market, the consumer has yet another option to consider.

But what does this mean for You – the Business owner?

First, understand that the smartphone penetration is not small, more people (and we’re not talking teens) are using these devices to connect. They’re talking, reading, writing and building their online experience all on items that easily fit into jean pockets.

Second, you have to build smarter. Have you ever looked at your website on a Blackberry? Or iPhone? (if you use flash – the iPhone will not like your site)

How does it look? Does it load well, and are you able to navigate the site?

Third, should you be considering building an app? Since that’s what has thrust the iPhone into the hearts of the consumer, with the Blackberry playing catchup,  should you be considering an App for your business? Or should you be thinking more of a mobile website?

Alright – this might be starting to tick you off with questions, but understand this point.

To keep it light for now though – What phone will you be selecting for your next upgrade?