What Makes a Guru? What Doesn’t?

Yep, it’s time for another cross-post to my Sibdu Blog on commercial, corporate and investment real estate. And as usual with these cross-posts, if you strip out the specific CRE mentions, I believe you’ll get plenty out of it as someone who is in social media. Or who is in business in general.

I’ve hit on several of these topics in individual posts in the past, but it is definitely time to bring them to the forefront in one post.

So with all of that in mind, please read: What Makes a Guru? What Doesn’t? And for social media-specific comments, please use the Comments here. Thanks.

When NOT to Use Social Media

I’ve touched on this in the past. But I now have the quintessential blog post on when companies, organizations and the like should not even think about using social media.

Unfortunately, I didn’t write it.

But I have no problem pointing you to it, because not only do I think it is brilliantly written, I agree with 99% of it. Here it is, at the ever-excellent ReadWriteWeb.

Latest Danger from Public Networks

I’ve written several times now about public social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and so on, in terms of how organizations like corporations, government and associations should utilize them. Essentially, my message has always been to use them as an adjunct and a compliment to your organization’s social media/ networking strategy, but to not depend on them as your sole means of communicating with whatever audience you have.

While the headline for this post sounds like the typical “scare ’em to death” promo that local television stations like to run during sweeps periods, it actually applies here. The “danger” results from not being able to directly communicate with your group in the way you want … or need.

Social Media and Web Applications

One area of social media that we “do” here at Portalfuze … but haven’t talked a lot about … is add social media to Web-based applications. Those applications can be within a current Web site, an application that runs independently of a Web site, and so on.

I recently posted this blog entry at Sibdu Blog about our RFP (request-for-proposal) platform, and how it can turn the search for commercial real estate on its head. How? In short, with our system the “demand” side (those looking for real estate to lease or buy) drive the search by issuing RFPs with their wants and needs. The “supply” side then responds to the RPFs.

To understand what’s coming, you first need to read the post at Sibdu Blog. I’ll wait.

Back? Good.

Social Media Made Easy

I realize that people with varying levels of knowledge about social media read this blog. Sometimes I think my posts here fly over the heads of those who don’t know all that much about social media, but come here to learn about it.

For those people, I offer the following video. I didn’t do it myself, but I’d be really proud of it if I did. It explains social media in a very basic, yet entertaining way. Enjoy!

If you’d like to discuss more about social media and how it can help your organization, please contact me using the information in the “About Portalfuze (short version)” box.

Social Media Partner … ?

Are you part of an IT or other type of company looking to add social media to your product or service mix? If the answer is “yes,” I’d like for you to watch the following video. It’s short, I promise:

Of course, we’re still working with client associations, government, companies and other types of organizations, to help them develop social-media strategies, platforms and applications. If anything, the types of partnerships we’re interested in forming will help our direct clients even more, as they’ll allow us to tap into different areas of expertise.

We can even form a complete “team” of experts to help organizations achieve their overall goals in the Internet space — a full content-rich Web site with social-media capabilities and mobile phone functionality (including iPhone and Blackberry), for example.

If you’d like to learn more, contact me today — my e-mail address is in the video. You can also use the link in the “About Portalfuze (short version)” box at the upper right of this page.

Messin’ with Sasquatch (a.k.a.: SlideShare’s April Fool’s Escapade)

That’s what SlideShare did to its members yesterday (not just Sasquatch*) on April Fool’s Day. I’d explain it, but Mashable (as usual) does it much better than I would. So I’ll just point you to it — you won’t get RickRolled or anything like that by clicking on that link or any link here, I promise — and hope you’ll come back with my take after you’ve read it.

Back? Good. I have to admit I was fooled by this joke, as SlideShare had an old slide show of mine at 60,000+ views! I was even going to do a blog post about it over at our commercial real-estate social networking blog, Sibdu Blog. Good thing I got Twittered back right away from SlideShare management when I did a bit of a boast about it on Twitter. But I took it in stride and thought it was kind of funny.

But that’s not all. More after the jump.

How to Become an Online Authority

A quick but important post today, about becoming an online authority. Because, let’s face it — we all want to be seen by others as authorities (while not actually calling ourselves an authority or … shudder … “expert”).

Our friend Pat Kitano at Domus Consulting last year put together this guide and slideshow on how to do just that. It holds up very well — so well, in fact, that I’m pointing you to it now.

Read, print it out, absorb and be the authority you want to be, while, again, not actually calling yourself an authority.

NOTE: For some reason, this page takes a while to load. Be patient, though, because it is worth it.

Social Media and the Press: A Game Changer

With all of the turmoil in the traditional, mainstream press about newspaper closings, job losses and the impact of electronic news delivery via the Internet, I thought it was a good time to bring back the below post on how social media is affecting the press. While it was published only a few months back, I think it is more relevant now than it was back then. Enjoy.

There’s no doubt that social media is and will have a huge impact across all kinds of different businesses. And it’s all good, believe me: Giving people access to, and the ability to interact with, all different kinds of information is a game changer in and of itself. As is having the ability to engage the company and other users within a Web site (hopefully a branded one for the site/publication/product involved, although public social networks are certainly acceptable).

I’ve already described how I think real estate and social media go together like tequila and hangovers. Now it’s time for another area that I believe SocMed will even have more of an impact: the press. How? Read on after the jump.

Building a Social Marketing Plan

The great minds at Great Minds Interactive have written a terrific blog post on how any kind of organization out there can build a solid social marketing plan. I’d suggest reading it first, then coming back to see my comments on it. So go already. It’s worth it.

Back? Good. In my mind, their plan is a lot like establishing a regular marketing plan — espeically the “defining market objective” and “selecting target market” points. They also integrate a lot of social media-specific ideas into their plan and helpful hints, especially these points: “Pay attention to your customers — don’t just sell,” “Give to get, but mostly give,” and “Remember to give help generously.” After all, social media was founded by individuals on those ideas, so organizations should follow them, too.

About the only thing I’d add, though, is that your organization’s overall marketing plan should somehow integrate into your social media campaign as well. You can definitely get creative with social media, but you’ve got to have it all come under one overarching marketing message. Otherwise, you’ve got the equivalent of two brands out there, which only ends up diluting both “brands.”

All in all, though, a really good post. I highly recommend it.

(tip o’ the hat to @mothergeek)