Tag:

I had the privilege to inspire on the topic “Finding business online” in Dalsland at the Event arranged by Innovatum. Erik Nissen Johansen from Stylt Trampoli also gave a lecture on Storytelling. The two subjects connect because it is all about your “WHY”. When telling the story of your brand, your product, yourself, your staff etc, tell it straight. Be personal, stay honest and give the reader a good story.

Most of the people I meet think social media is a trick or really hard to learn. My usual answer is – you all ready know how to do it successfully. If you act online as you would with your best friends and as you would in your greatest client relationships you are on your way. The technique – to post, show photos, upload videos, create buzz etc- you might need help with. Ask your fans, followers and in forums and you will get feedback. Do not hesitate to ask professionals for help as well. Social Media is the best honest marketing, PR tool out there.

Read Innovatums own blog post from The Event in Swedish here>>

Here are a few of the videos I mentioned in my talk:

Simon Sinek – Why

Charity Water – on how to tell the story passionately:

The Marmite Social Media Case

Yesterday, I shared a great conversation on employer branding with people in charge of various organisations. Yet again, I see the ripple effects and how social media connects or splits people. As always, I would like to start by focusing on the positive possibilities for a brand to grow, to become more social.

- Internal tools such as Yammer and Jive get the conversations going, utilize the energy and knowledge within a group, connects people to a brand / employer.

- Writing a blog as a CEO instead of a formated weekly newsletter might increase the comments and interaction with co-workers. And the same blog could also be used to share the personalized corporate daily story to both customers and future employees.

- The things we say and claim we will do must be true. They should of course be tied to the company core values. It is easily checked if a line is said for the sole purpose of marketing. The more personality we mix in the message the better.

- Taking the time to really listen, asking questions and sharing information builds trust.

I will share two videos for inspiration.

1) To get your thoughts going on how you communicate and relate from Kate Hartman:

2) My all time favorite Simon Sinek on “How great leaders aim to inspire”

About every two weeks, I have Skype meetings with the social media team of CISV International. It is usually during the afternoon for me, so that Jerry from Guatemala does not have to get up too early, and Angela from the Philippines does not fall asleep on the keyboard. We are of different age, different chapters in life, and we live in three completely different parts of the world.

I have been a member of CISV Sweden since 2005, when I went to Lyon, France through a program called Interchange. It was the first time I ever traveled without my parents. Instead I traveled with six friends my age, a “junior counselor” and an adult leader. I lived in a French boy’s house with his mother and sister, whom I had never met before. Four weeks (two in France and two in Sweden) later, I had grown from an insecure, shy boy who never talked to girls, into being able to actually have a conversation with girls my age. And I could do it in English as well! Pretty cool, huh?

In 2010, I was elected National Junior Representative (NJR for short) for CISV Sweden. With our several hundred “juniors” (members aged 14-27), it is a huge responsibility, and of course one of the most awesome experiences I have had. As an NJR, I’m constantly keeping track of all levels of the organization, and it’s giving me insight into how an international organization with nearly 60,000 members works.

So what is CISV? To put it into the Golden Circle à la Simon Sinek, starting with why:

• The organization strives to create peace through friendship.
• We try to educate and inspire our members (and others) to take action on any level, local through global, for a more just and peaceful world.
• This is mainly carried out through projects and camps all over the world, aimed at people ages 11 and up.

CISV is one of the most important parts of me, and the energy and passion I feel while working with all my volunteer colleagues all over the world is something I rarely get anywhere else!

Typical image from a Media Team meeting

Fun fact: While the average Facebook user has 130 friends, the average CISV member on Facebook has 390 friends. That’s the power of international friendship and social media!

I recently put a post on LinkedIn, “Too many organisations are starting with “How to” in social media, when they should begin by answering their “Why”? It seems that social media is in-undated with people, agencies and conferences telling organisations HOW TO: use social media, develop a strategy, engage with customers, create a Facebook page, start a blog, etc.

I obtained the following from Mashable (a top source for social media), when doing a general social media query:

– HOW TO: Implement a Social Media Business Strategy
– The 10 Stages of Social Media Business Integration
– 18 Online Productivity Tools for Your Business
– HOW TO: Choose a News Reader for Keeping Tabs on Your Industry
– HOW TO: Use a Start Page to Stay Organized
– 5 Tips for Creating a Successful Social Media Contest
– HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI
– HOW TO: Use Social Media to Connect with Other Entrepreneurs

As Simon Sinek advocates, “All organizations and careers function on 3 levels. What you do, How you do it and Why you do it. The problem is, most don’t even know that Why exists.” The same is true for social networking. Instead of asking “How to”, organisations should begin by asking themselves, “Why?”. Why social networking? Why do we want to engage with people? Why would fans want to engage with us? etc. This process helps organisations to understand and clarify their social networking purpose. For most companies there will be clear reasons, for others it may take more work. But companies that begin their social media activities with “Why”, will be better set to develop an appropriate social media strategy suited to their specific requirements, objectives and goals.

Has your company asked itself “Why”?

I could have never happened. The inspirational lecture on passion, the importance of why in social media and social media for social good. I might have had to give the lecture over Skype video since the transportation to C&D Snickeri in Falköping got more complicated than antisipated. My audience had to wait gracefully for an hour before I managed to maneuver my car to the right place after failing train connections. But, I think I spread some positive energy and inspired my audience from IDC, Industrial Developement Center, and provided a new outlook on social media activities based on Simon Sinek’s “Why”.

Meeting people in person is what matters. That is where it all starts. I am glad I made it. Here is Simon Sineks thoughts on the subject from TED about face time:

I feel privileged and humble to have my job and to be able to do what I love and meet the people I meet. Thank you Anki and IDC . I wish Pia Hansson the best of luck with her new blog (opening real soon and I will add the link).

Tonight I had the priviledge to give an introduction to social media to the Rotary club in Kungsbacka. The club was founded in November 1946. On my personal blog you will find a summary in Swedish. In short we talked about:

What is social media?
= Global online tool that enables everyday, instantaneous dialogue with one or several thousands of users.

Why go online?
Here, I recommend that you invest about 20 minutes to listen to Simon Sinek “Why”. Once you know why you should be online, why your company should invest and what the purpose is, then the process can continue.

Where is your passion?
Passion drives your brand  and fuels the process of creating a ripple effect online. Please feel free to ask us more about this!

Brief descriptions of the various channels:

• Facebook – the world’s greatest dialogue channel, a winning formula is to ask lots of questions and to be honest
• Twitter – a micro-blog (diary) where you have 140 characters to say what you want to say. For example: share links, make an offer, make frequent updates during a specific period of time.
• LinkedIn – professional global business network. Activate all your past business card and put your update all your contacts here as well as your resume in your profile. All recruiters go here and look for contacts, staff, etc. Here you can  find active discussion groups within your area of expertise.
• Blog – a diary that is updated frequently and where the readers can leave comments. The world’s best and biggest blog tool is WordPress. Eventually, all sites will be blogs since they are easier and more cost effective to  update.
• YouTube – charge the movies you want to spread and show others
• Flickr - here you upload images to share with others

Social media for social good.
Build your brand using social media and link it to social good actions, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). See the example Dove and Pepsi. On awoque we will talk more on the topic during the spring of 2011. Look out!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask them in the comment’s field! Be curious, dare to raise the question, focus on why and then action! Good luck!

Ikväll fick jag många frågor om Facebook och Twitter när jag anslöt till Rotary Kungsbackas tisdagsmöte på Hotell Halland. Efter en smakfull måltid höll jag en kortare introduktion om sociala medier som i kort handlade om det här:

Vad är sociala medier?
= Globala onlineverktyg som möjliggör daglig, momentan dialog med en eller flera tusentals användare.

Varför ska du vara online?
Här rekommenderar jag att du investerar ca 20 min till att lyssna till Simon Sineks “Why”-tal som jag skrivit om i bloggen tidigare. När du vet varför du ska vara där, varför ditt företag ska satsa och vad ändamålet är, då kan processen fortsätta.

Var finns din passion?
Det du/ditt varumärke brinner för är det som är motorn i att skapa ringar på vattnet (the ripple effect). Att fundera kring denna fråga är viktigare än de flesta tror. Hör gärna av dig så berättar jag mer!

Korta beskrivningar av de olika kanalerna:

• Facebook – världens största dialogkanaler där ett vinnande koncept är att ställa mycket frågor och vara ärlig i sin kontak
• Twitter – en mikroblogg(dagbok) där du har 140 tecken att säga det du vill ha sagt t ex länka vidare till annan sida, ge ett erbjudande, komma med ett påstående, när du behöver uppdatera ofta under en bestämd tidsperiod
• LinkedIn – professionellt globalt affärsnätverk. Här aktiveras alla dina tidigare passiva visitkort och du lägger in dina kontakter här samt håller ditt CV uppdaterat under din profil. Alla rekryterare är här och söker du kontakter, personal mm är det här du ska börja leta. Här kan du också hitta aktiva diskussionsgrupper kring ditt specialistområde.
• Blogg – världens bästa och största bloggverktyg heter WordPress. En blogg är som en dagbok som uppdateras ofta och där de som läser kan lämna kommentarer. T.o.m www.gp.se kan anser jag är en blogg! På sikt kommer alla hemsidor vara bloggar då de möjlggör en enklare och mer effektiv uppdatering som är strålande ur marknadsföringssyfte i flera aspekter och anpassad för sökmotorer.
• YouTube - här laddar du upp filmer du vill sprida och visa för andra
• Flickr - här laddar du upp bilder du vill dela med andra

Social media for social good.
Bygg ditt varumärke med hjälp av sociala medier och gör det med kopplingar till samhällsnytta, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Se exemplet Dove och Pepsi. På awoque kommer vi prata mycket mer på temat under våren 2011. Håll utkik!

Om du som var där (eller läser detta nu) har frågor tveka inte att ställa dem i kommentarsfältet! Det är bara att vara nyfiken, våga fråga, fundera på varför och sedan göra! Lycka till!

Det här är mitt 100:e blogginlägg. Det får jag fira med en god kopp te! Imorgon onsdag firar jag mera.

A few weeks back, I was recommended this great video clip from at TED-talk by Simon Sinek. I wrote about the “Why-inspirational speech” in my Swedish blog. If you have not seen this 18 min clip, please do. At awoque, we are fans of Sinek and follow him on Twitter and his blog. After we saw this clip, Paul went and bought small (portable) whiteboards for all of our team to carry to their meetings. We still look to tap into our clients passion when we develop social media strategies, but we also ensure that we answer the question, why online/social media?

Yesterday, Sinek wrote an insightful post with the focus on “How will you know when you’re successful?” I am sure you have had this discussion in your company and asked yourself the same thing. What was your conclusion? We talked a lot about this when we started awoque a few months back. We wanted to find a focus that was higher than just financial rewards. My partner Paul and I agreed that our focus and measure of success is when we work with great people, on fun projects, with a fantastic result. Awoque is built on our belief that passion is at the heart of a successful social media strategy. Helping brands to connect with their fans in a more honest, intimate interaction; using online channels, as means to get it done.

Sinek concludes his blog with:  “When I reach a level of momentum, when the movement can advance without me — then I will feel successful.” For us, I know that we found our first momentum. Our first clients signed, which have fun projects and shortly we will look to hire talented staff to awoque even more companies ; ) The journey to prove “Why online” continues…