Social Media Advisors

The Phone Call Challenge – Just Do It!

Earlier today on Social Media Edge (our long-running BlogTalkRadio show), we were discussing the importance of connecting “in real life” with our online friends. This includes both phone conversations and face-to-face time.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve said many times that the goal of blogging and social media is not to replace the real world interaction, but to enhance it. Additionally, when you connect by speaking, it adds depth to your online interactions thereafter. In other words, if we talk on the phone or meet at a conference and chat, I’m more likely to care more about your blog, Facebook status updates, tweets, etc.

With that in mind, I was inspired today to issue a challenge to my online friends:

Pick up the phone and call someone.

That’s it. Just call. If you feel especially ambitious and you can make it happen, meet with one of your online-only friends in person. Maybe it’s someone whose blog you admire and read regularly. Perhaps it’s someone whose tweets always make you laugh or think, or it’s a friend-of-a-friend on Facebook that seems interesting. Whatever the case, this “old school” method will make you stand out in a world of overwhelming social activity online. It’s a great way to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

I can promise that two things will happen:

The person on the other end of the line will be pleasantly surprised that you called
You’ll probably make a new friend

People always prefer to do business with those that they know, like, and trust. This is an opportunity for you to become that person and to gain “top of mind” awareness.

I’ve done this for years, but I never thought about blogging on this topic until today. I’ve made some very strong friendships using this technique, some of which have resulted in later referrals. Regardless, if you care enough to interact with someone online, you’ll probably hit it off over the phone or in person.

If you’re feeling hesitant and you want a test case, call me first. I promise to make it a fun experience for you. My cell phone number is 512-796-7653. 🙂

Just do it.

Here’s a video to get you inspired.

Using Google Docs to Generate Leads

Online Consulting, Social Media Advisors, Social Media Training

Google Docs are one of my favorite tools on the web and also one that I think gets overlooked by so many people. Since I no longer own a PC I don’t have access to Microsoft Word & Excel, so when I want to create documents and spreadsheets to send to someone I always use Google Docs. Another thing I love about Google Docs is the fact that you can share them with others and collaborate together. One way we collaborate in Google Docs is for our weekly radio show. Since there are four regular contributors into the show, it is a great easy way to share what topics we are going to discuss, notes on our guest speaker and so much more. It’s a great way for all of us to access the same info and share things with each other quickly.

The other big function of Google Docs that I think gets overlooked by so many is the form function. The form allows you to create a document that can be embedded into a website, blog post or just about anywhere else. It gives you the creator a simple way to collect information from readers who want to participate. For example, I recently ran a contest for a company where we wanted people to be able to register for the contest. Consumers could simply fill out the form with their name, email address and phone number.

All of the information was then stored in an excel spreadsheet that I could then use to determine winners, and also have a good set of leads to follow up on about possibly purchasing a custom WordPress Site. So you may be wondering, how do you create these forms and how can they be used for generating leads. Well, I am going to show you how to quickly and easily create a form, install it into your site and then how the answers populate. Watch the video below to see step by step how I create and implement Google Docs form builder:

Also, here is the Google Form I created in the video so you can see how one works live:

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If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them below.