Aaron Strout posted on his Citizen Marketer blog a nice little list of the top 10 social media lessons he learned. There are some great nuggets of information in the list that are well worth the few minutes it takes to read. I’m doing one of them now: “Every day…make a point of calling out other blogs, Twitter updates or FF activity.”
FYI, FF stands for Friendfeed, a site that “helps you discover and discuss interesting stuff that your friends and family find on the web.” Another site to add to my list of social media tools to explore.
There are two main reasons why I think lists like this are relevant to consultants:
- Starting, running, and growing a consulting or small business depends on communicating effectively with our audiences. Social media is a communication tool that has taken hold. As entrepreneurs and small business owners, we can’t afford to ignore a tool that so many people are embracing (see To Blog or Not to Blog Part II) and that requires little capital outlay to begin.
- Many of our clients need to embrace social media as well, and they’re turning to us for guidance.
I found out that the link to Aaron’s full list doesn’t work anymore. It looks like his blog is no longer on the Mzinga site. Luckily, the list was posted in a few places, one being the Silicon Valley WebGuild site at http://www.webguild.org/2008/10/top-10-social-media-lessons.php. Just in case that page also disappears, here’s Aaron’s entire list, staring with number 10:
10 – Don’t break your arm patting yourself on the back. It may make you feel good but others won’t appreciate it.
9 – Make sure you spend as much time commenting, responding and reading other people’s content as you do creating your own.
8 – Every day I a point of calling out others blogs, Twitter updates or FF activity. Remember its all about them, not you!
7 – If you don’t podcast, start. It doesn’t have to be for anyone but you. I do 1 every morning on http://utterli.com/ from my cell.
6 – When you read blogs, don’t just follow the big A-listers. Some of my faves are http://scottmonty.com and http://www.thesocialorganization.com
5 – Always ask other people what they’ve learned about tapping into community/SM for business. You’ll be surprised what you learn.
4 – On Twitter be social. Talk about work AND social things. Too much of either can be a turn off.
3 – As @scobleizer reminded me, make your content count. See this post for more details – http://is.gd/3dMG
2 – As important as online social networking is, OFFLINE is equally, if not MORE important. Make a point of meeting people in person.
1 – As my boss, @blibert, keeps reminding me, KEEP IT IN A BOX!!! http://is.gd/193L
Hi Avery,
I used the original link in your post this morning and–it worked!! We can see Aaron Strout’s post, again, at least for now at: http://www.mzinga.com/en/Community/Blogs/Aaron-Strout/Top-10-Lessons-Learned/
On that page, Aaron’s blog archive ends on October 31, 2008 with a notice that his blogs have moved to: http://blog.stroutmeister.com/
His new title is: Vice President of New Media, Citizen Marketer
I’m going to bookmark that site to keep up with his very informative blogs
I enjoyed reading this !