GOOD NEWS for Our Readers...

I have some good news for those of you that read our blog on a regular basis. As many of you know, we are guest speaking at a Shirlaws Coaching event this coming WEDNESDAY, September 30th at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Now for the BEST NEWS...

As guest speakers, they have given us "speakers passes" to the event, "Catch The First Wave". We only have 10 PASSES. We want to offer them to those who read our blog and call me (425-260-6264), e-mail (blaine@someexec.com) me or twitter me (@BlaineMillet) and you will get into the event at NO COST. Now that's a great deal for those who follow us.

This event will feature one of their experts, Marc Johnstone, speaking on the current economy and how they see it now starting to turn around. As part of their presentation, they will talk about how to "take advantage" of this turnaround NOW and be better prepared for 2010. It is a great message and one I would encourage you to hear.

In addition, we have the opportunity to spend some time talking about "How Social Media can improve your Business" - which links very nicely into their message of getting on board early to dominate your competition. I hope you get to take advantage of this special event and offer...

Blog post with pictures and links

This is a new blog entry from our great group at the Harbor Club – we had the pleasure of meeting Will and Jessica from Premier Periodontics.

A NEW Experience - Thanks Zino

I arrived at 6:30am last Thursday morning, September 17th at The Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle to get set up for the the Zino Society annual Zillionare event - their biggest event of the year.

As usual, it was slated to be a fast paced, information packed and lively session where 28 entrepreneurs with a variety of newly created products meets investors - with the hopes that something will strike a chord between the two and another success story is born. That is the format and venue for the Zino Zillionaire event. Oh yes, and of course we can't forget that Zino awards its own $100,000 split between the top tech and non-tech winners - very nice.

Only this year there was something different about to take place. The introduction of Social Media - specifically twitter. We have been working with Cathi Hatch, founder and CEO of Zino Society, for several months now, helping her get engaged and active. Our hats off to her - she is a "natural blogger" and has embraced Social Media for her entire organization. She has always been known as "leading edge" so this just fits her style and that of Zino.

Cathi asked Clay and I to set up and run the Social Media component for the event - specifically managing the twitter feeds. This was a NEW EXPERIENCE for us with such a large audience (over 200 people) in such a fast paced environment - very exciting. We're happy to say we pulled it off and everyone was fascinated by the twitter messages being flashed on the screen. It was exciting and definitely put Zino ahead of the curve with being creative, innovative and ahead of the pack in using Social Media to communicate to a very large group inside and outside an event. Thank you Cathi and everyone at Zino for allowing us to work with you on this and to demonstrate the power of twitter and Social Media in a true business setting. We'll be back next year...

"Taste and Tweet" Thank you...

Clay and I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Shona Milne for such a nice write-up on what we try to accomplish with our "Taste and Tweet" events - fun and building "buzz" for companies. Shona, we could NOT have said it better - in fact, we could never have summarized and described it better than you did.

Grand Cru Wine Shop and Bar was a great host and went out of their way to take care of the "Taste and Tweet" participants. Rob Reichel, one of the owners and General Manager of the wine bar kept things moving and the "tasters" constantly engaged with great wine selections as well as a nice variety of foods. We appreciate the opportunity to "experience" Grand Cru and your hospitality.

The often missed "Secret" to Blogging

I have been reading a number of articles, blog posts, twitter and other content on what others think is the "secret to successful blogging" and I am shocked! Most are missing the biggest value of blogging.

Most believe that if you have something to say and it can't be said in 140 characters (twitter and facebook and others) that you should have a blog. They would be correct - it is the cornerstone to Social Media and the primary place you can use to "write in paragraphs" about what you have to say. No argument so far. It is an absolutely perfect venue for sharing your great insights, experiences, thoughts and knowledge about certain things (content).

However, blogging isn't ONLY about "content" - it is about the "dialog" that goes with the content. Unfortunately, most of us are not "rock stars" and as such don't have an audience of thousands or millions hanging on the next thing we write (at least not yet). We are pretty much normal people with something of interest to say to others that have similar interests or needs for the same information.

Blogging is a cornerstone to "social media" - which means its social. Social by definition means we interact and become "social" with one another. But being "social" means we have to "interact" with someone else. Thus, the BIGGEST advantage of blogging isn't only spewing great content to your audience, its creating a meaningful "dialog" that brings your blog TO LIFE!

When you are able to provide meaningful content AND receive comments and discussions from your readers - YOU HAVE ARRIVED and become an extremely valuable blogger. So next time you read a blog, check to see if anyone is commenting. If they have commenting turned off, they either "don't get it" or they are one of those "rock stars" - like a Seth Godin in marketing. For the rest of us, keep writing and keep asking for the "dialog" and create the interactivity that blogging was really designed to offer - and maybe you too will become the next "social media rock star."

Seize the Moment - ACT NOW...

I was on a call the other day with Shirlaws Coaching team and Jane Jordan-Meier from the Bay Area discussing how we are going to use Social Media with thier clients to help them grow in this economy. Following the meeting, Jane sent me a link to a blog post, "Too Big to Start" by PR Squared. This was such a timely post, I wanted to share it with you.

The focus of the post is all about "speed to market" and how small and middle-market businesses have a HUGE opportunity if they can just ACT NOW! Before Social Media, big business had the advantage because they had such large communication and marketing budgets. With the down turn in the economy and the introduction of Social Media, now smaller businesses can compete on equal footing with these behemoths. The world has changed...

With Social Media, the tools are the SAME COST to both small businesses as well as the behemoths - FREE. The competitive advantage and victory will go to the organization with the ability to use and execute quickly to help build stronger and deeper relationships. Right now, big business is tied up in their underwear and forming committees to try and figure out how to execute. This is creating a tremendous opportunity for small and middle-market companies - they can ACT QUICKLY and use the component of SPEED to create a significant advantage.

This is the time to STRIKE if you are a smaller business. ACT NOW, get a solid Social Media Strategy so you can "get in the game" and start building the relationships that the bigger companies can't capture today. Even if you aren't perfect, get started - that is more important than waiting until everything is perfect. This advantage won't be here forever. As we like to say, "If you aren't the Lead Dog, the view is always the same" - you get to choose your view...

Shirlaws Seminar

We just wanted to thank Kristina Katayama Bass and Emile Haddad from Shirlaws Coaching for having us speak to their group of distribution partners and friends. This was a great group of over 30 people that were not only interested in Social Media, but were armed with some awesome questions about how this could really help them in their businesses.

One of the guests, David from Insurance Resource Group was a "willing subject" as we demonstrated how easy it is to create a blog post directly out of Outlook – great picture David. Thanks for being such a cooperative example for everyone to see.

Shirlaws Coaching is an international strategy and coaching firm that has a great history behind them. They have dominated in the UK and Australia and are bringing their expertise to the US and spreading rapidly. We are honored to be associated with them. If you are interested in learning more, they have a great event on September 30th where we will be speaking again along with Marc Johnstone, a recognized expert in the economy and how it is progressing. More to come on this event - I would highly recommend attending.