_5 tips to grow the value of your Social Online Network

1-Invest more time and feelings: The more of your time you give to others, the more time they’ll give you in return. This means that by investing more in your online relationships, they will become more valuable to you.
2-Have an open door policy: I’ve said before that you should accept all friend requests because you never know what doors it could open for you, or how you’ve touched that person. By having an open door policy, you shouldn’t block your social updates and activities. As a result, your online network will grow with haste.
3-Push online contacts offline: Since offline contacts are worth more, you’ll want to take some of them offline, to enhance the relationship and bring meaning to it.
4-Become one of one: When you’re offering the same type of content as thousands of people, you can’t stand out, and people won’t rely on you for that information. The more people depend on you, the more critical you become to their lives, and thus you have stronger relationships, and more career potential.
5-Develop social proof: When people see that you’re popular and influential, they will want to enter your social circle. By using your current network to build a positive perception of social proof, it will be easier for you to grow the value of your overall network.

_The Likelihood of Going Viral

Viral videos are the dream of every marketer, and those spending time trying to manufacture them often miss the mark. Most viral efforts will fall flat, and I imagine there is a strong negative correlation between the size of the brand and the likelihood of going viral. Why? Try getting the right viral idea through branding, legal, regulatory, privacy, PR, senior management, etc (exhausted yet)… Even if it’s bang on, I’ll bet 10 to 1 that it will die a death of a thousand edits barely resembling the brilliant campaign presented by a creative and enthusiastic team member several months ago.

Instead, what people should be focusing on are “outbreaks”, which are defined as pockets of infection as opposed to viruses. Do you need tens of millions of people to watch your video, or can you get great results if only 100,000 of the right people watch it?  Traditional media buying has biased us toward huge numbers, but “The Tipping Point” and others have shown us how powerful smaller numbers of influentials can be.  Listen to your target and figure out what truly resonates with your influentials, and infect them.

From a budget standpoint, that suggests that brands should not drop $3 million on a single social media campaign. Instead, think about using that same budget on 30 campaigns that each cost $100,000. You’ve increased your overall likelihood of success by 30x while lowering the ROI bar for each campaign.  Brilliant!

_Investing Internally

In addition to more traditional marketing and web communications, Contour Marketing & Media has been busy with training and internally focused communications for clients who have stepped up their “internal investments” in this uncertain market.
Working with our clients’ subject matter experts, Contour’s education professionals gather and develop materials to be delivered via video/web conferencing, e-mail, message board forum, or client-preferred method of delivery.
Web-based training is an ideal vehicle for delivering training to employees at any time and any place. This innovative approach enables companies to deliver materials allowing self-directed and self-paced instruction on any topic. WBT is media-rich training capable of evaluation, adaptation and remediation.
Web-based training offers many advantages over traditional training. WBT ensures a consistent message to employees and is far more convenient for employees-anytime, anywhere. With the potential to reach larger audiences, WBT greatly reduces the cost of travel and the costs of trainers and classroom facilities.

_What’s in a name?

Your name-it is your first opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition.  A name should evoke either a telling depiction or essence of the brand.  There are other considerations that must be well thought-out when naming your business.  Some believe that coined names-names that come from made-up words are more attractive and impressive.  In actuality, any type of name can be effective when supported by the right marketing strategy emphasizing uniqueness.