Social Networking

Commun.it Launches Their Relationship Management Service for Twitter

May 30, 2012 by basilpuglisi@aol.com Leave a Comment

Weeks ago, Communi.it extended a few initial pre-launch accounts for some social media educational business’s, such as DBMEi, they have announced their official roll out date for their Twitter management service. On June 5th, at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo in NYC, they will officially release the tool to the public. From an initial testing phase point-of-view, the Commun.it tool is a smooth running and user-friendly option for Twitter management that can definitely help private users or marketers alike more fluidly aggregate their most highly desired content. Sharel Omar, CEO and Co-Founder of Commun.it shares that,

“Social media has become instrumental in maintaining all kinds of business relationships; with customers, prospects, partners, and more.”

Most social media marketers can attest to the validity of Omar’s statement. So what do you use to manage all of the most vital information coming in and going out of your Twitter account every day, week, month? Well, there is certainly no shortage of helpful tools, so what does Commun.it bring to the table?

Commun.it Focus

Commun.it developers wanted to focus directly on turning the stream-oriented feed of Twitter into your own personal relationship-oriented dashboard.

Commun.it can help you achieve stress-free social productivity. While many other Twitter feed tools and services provide you with an endless stream of messages, Commun.it helps to analyze your relationships with your followers and allows you to focus on the most relevant people to your interests, not their statuses.
Focus more on high value members and influencers that can help your staunchest supporters spread your message, drive awareness to top influencers, engage member, and create potential leads.
Create actionable insights to help build more meaningful relationships with your Twitter community including a full-engagement history as well as yours and your networks most used hashtags, as well as suggestions on who to follow or who to re-engage with.

With Commun.it users can read over the feeds of the recent activities of top influencers and supporters and even prioritized engagements.

Commun.it provides a complete relationship context with all of your engagements with any member in one smooth thread.
Users have the chance to and the suggestions to discover new leads and quickly make them new Twitter followers. Users can see some of the top engagers of their followers list as well, allowing them to branch out a bit more than many other Twitter management programs currently provide.
Easier management via Commun.it may give some of those small business marketers some of their valuable time back with the ability to star followers for quick access, find members by names or bios, hide those you are not interested in, or even unfollow extremely inactive members.

All in all, the Commun.it tool is a well-rounded, well-oiled machine by managing and prioritizing incoming engagements, providing users with relationship context in a quick glance, and recording and archiving valuable relationship history with each and every one of your followers.

Special bonus to DBMEi Subscribers:

Although the service is launching publicly in a week, we will be metering access for the first month or so. DBMEi subscribers can get in now, however, using this unique invite link: http://commun.it/?t=2b0d35 (for the first 100 only).

The early-bird price of Commun.it Pro tier – only $4.99 a month – will continue to apply to any user who registers and upgrades to Pro before the public launch at BlogWorld & New Media Expo NYC. After the public launch, the price will go up to $9.99 a month. So DBMEi subscribers can benefit from registering early!

Author:

@BasilPuglisi is the Executive Director and Publisher for Digital Brand Marketing Education (dbmei.com). Basil C. Puglisi is also the President of Puglisi Consulting Group, Inc. A Digital Brand Marketing Consultancy that manages professional and personal branding for Fortune 500 CEOs, Hedge Fund Managers and Small Business Owners.

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A New Kraze has Arrived. Meet LifeKraze.

March 4, 2012 by basilpuglisi@aol.com 7 Comments

When Facebook and Twitter were first launched, it’s safe to say that a collective thought went through everyone’s mind: “Why didn’t I think of that?” As LifeKraze enters the realm of social media, I believe that question will be whispered once again by a majority of the population.
If you haven’t heard of LifeKraze yet, you will soon. The beta version was launched to the public in March 2011 and has since built a strong group of followers. Their current team consists of 10 employees and is based in Chattanooga, TN, surrounded by mountains and rivers, making it a perfect “active” base.
What is LifeKraze?
It begins with one simple question, “What have you done?”
I spoke with the co-founder and CTO of LifeKraze, Michael Brooks, Jr., in order to step into the mindset of LifeKraze: “If Facebook is what you are, Twitter is what you say, then LifeKraze is what you do.”
The idea is that people need motivation in order to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. “Our entire idea was based around encouraging others, because with a little motivation, and people cheering you on, you can achieve anything,” comments Brooks.
LifeKraze helps to create this motivation through a social media platform. It is a community of people that all have similar goals, whether it is losing 10 pounds or writing a chapter in that book you’ve always wanted to write, the goal of the community is also the slogan of LifeKraze, “Live like it counts”.
Not only does the community help to inspire you by giving words of encouragement and helping to hold you accountable for your goals, there are also reward points involved, which you can redeem for products. You receive 200 points daily, to be spread around to other people. For example, maybe someone posted that they helped a child in math today. If you like that action, you can reward them with some of those 200 points. In return, when you post an action that is admired by other users, they can reward you with points. Points can then be redeemed for various products from partners of LifeKraze, which so far include big names such as Reebok and PowerAde Zero.

Besides points, though, it really is the care and comments from other users that I believe is the gem of LifeKraze. The community really supports each other through comments. They really seem to care about each other. It’s what you need to keep yourself on track of your goals.
Where did the idea come from?
“Things really started to come together for us after we had our initial idea, but what drove us to really push to make this a business was providing a platform to encourage and motivate others to achieve their goals,” says Brooks. “We always had coaches and teammates to push us through our lives (through Sports) and when we graduated, we lost that.”
That is the power of LifeKraze. I asked Michael Brooks, Jr. about the response they’ve received from users since launching almost 2 years ago. One word he used to describe them was “unbelievable”. After reading them, I’d also add inspiring. One user signed up months ago and could barely make it around her neighborhood without being exhausted. She just ran her entire first half marathon. People have posted of losing 30-50 pounds since joining LifeKraze and using the platform to stay motivated. “People post about getting engaged, cleaning out their garages, and acing exams. The accomplishments are spread out from health, to fitness, to positive actions,” says Brooks.
In a world where healthy and active lifestyles are on the forefront of minds with shows like The Biggest Loser, a wide variety of health magazines, and an increasingly large amount of diet books on the shelves, LifeKraze seems to fill a gap. While we have all of the information and applications to be active, the motivational, community aspect was missing. Until LifeKraze.
“We care about what people are doing, and we want to provide a community and a platform that is always there for you, and we are always in season, encouraging and motivating you to do your best,” finishes Brooks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypYm2HCj58E&feature=player_embedded]
Author:
Megan Campbell has a degree from Clemson University in Graphic Communications, and is currently living in Germany during a Gap Year abroad, working as an au pair and freelance writer. Her degree set her up for a great interest and knowledge of social media. You can find her on her blog, balancewithadashofcrazy, or contact her via email at meganecamp at gmail dot com.
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The ABC’S of Networking Follow Up

December 6, 2011 by basilpuglisi@aol.com 8 Comments

Most of us have attended numerous networking events. We make it a point to meet and greet many people with the idea of building a relationship for potential business. So, why don’t we follow up?

How often after an event have you found yourself with a dozen or more business cards only to put them in or on your desk to collect dust. Weeks may go by before you look at them again and forget who they are or where you met them. Well, that is why, right off the bat I suggest to put your picture on your business card. It does help when people see your picture to remember who you are. That would be my first suggestion.

Next, I would suggest you ask yourself what your goals are. Are you going to these events to become a card collector? I know in some industries it’s a numbers game but then that is not really networking. Networking is about building relationships not necessarily transactions.

So many of us put so much time and effort into networking but fail to follow up. Did you know that follow up should actually begin shortly after the introduction? You should instinctively know during your conversation whether or not you would like to speak or meet with them again. (Remember don’t just look at them as a potential client but rather a potential referral source.) So, you might want to say something like “I really enjoyed speaking with you and would love to follow up with this conversation. Would you prefer I contact you via telephone or email?” At that time, they will either say:

Response A: “I enjoyed speaking with you as well but I am really busy right now – maybe we will run into each other again.” (meaning – they are not interested in networking with you) Keep in mind that doesn’t mean it’s over simply wait until you run into them again and let things happen naturally.
Response B: “The best way to reach me is via email or ….”

At this time, you may want to make some notes on the back of their business card to help remind you of some key points in the conversation for your follow up.

The only way to see the “ROI” on networking is by putting in the time. Successful people know the importance of a strong network.

According to Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI – offers 2 tips – 1 for networking and 1 for follow up meeting:

1. A one-page flyer – Have a brief overview of your business ready to pass along at all times in case you meet someone while networking who wants to quickly pass along your information to a prospective client he/she knows. You should have a hard copy to fax and an electronic copy to email.

2. Question-and-answer sheets – One of the quickest ways to learn about a person’s business as a networker, and for him or her to learn about yours, is to make the initial meeting as organized as possible. A sheet with questions that you can each ask each other can ensure you don’t forget to find out the information that could lead to a quick referral.

A great article to read, by Dr. Ivan Misner, is “Don’t make this networking mistake” He explains how to go for the “long-term relationship” and not the “short sale.”

Try to follow up from immediately to up to 72 hours while the person and conversation is still somewhat fresh in not only your mind but the other persons mind as well. Hopefully, during the initial conversation you did most of the listening this way you can offer something of interest to them based on things they have said. For example, they may have said they love golfing – so maybe you can let them know of a golf outing that is coming up or an interesting article you may have recently read about golfing. You want to look for a solution to a problem they may be having. Your follow up can include:

An article or a book you read
An expert opinion
A contact or introduction
An invitation to an upcoming networking event or target event
Refer to a commonality you both may have. For example:

Could be You came from same town
You share the same hobby
You Vacationed at the same location
Your both reading the same book

Just remember to be genuine and real and do not try to sell unless they showed an expressed interest in your product or service.

Visibility comes with being present.
Credibility grows during the follow ups.
Conversations create stronger relationships.

For a more personal follow up, which will help you stand out from the rest, send a personal handwritten note or a personalized card from sendoutcards.com.

During the course of a conversation, you may want to ask if they utilize social media. You may request to connect on facebook. If that is too personal, ask if they have a business page that you can become a fan of or try connecting on linkedin. Start building the relationship before you actually need them. Suggest a date to meet explaining how you would like to know more about their business. People like to talk about themselves so be sure to ask open ended questions.

You need to feel out the person you are following up with. Be mindful of their time. Become someone they enjoy talking to. In order for your follow up to work you need to follow through. Remember it’s not about “chasing prospects” it’s about “building relationships”

There are guidelines or campaigns for your follow ups – one is reaching out with the 8 x 12 method – meaning – you reach out to potential prospect 8 times over a 12 week period which is more for a sales follow up. Networking follow up is a much longer process to building relationship that you hope to keep for most of your career.

You may want to break down the cards into 3 catergories:

Prospective clients
People you will refer to others
People who will pass referrals to you

As the saying goes “The Fortune is in the Follow up” speaking of which, there is a recently published book out by Heidi Sloss called “The Fortune is in the Follow up” I have not had the pleasure of reading it yet but I may soon.

To help you stay more organized with your contacts and follow ups there is a site called jibberjobber.com – it is a personal relationship manager that can help you organize and track personal & professional relationships. It is free to set up and free to use or you can upgrade to a premium package for a low monthly cost but it is not necessary.

Don’t forget to reconnect with old business relationships, clients / customers because they too can become a good referral source.

Appropriate and sincere follow up will ultimately lead to meaningful and fruitful relationships

Here is a great guide for sales follow ups – creating a great follow up with your clients in 7 simple steps by followupsuccess.com

Statistically speaking – for sales…..

48% of sales people never follow up with a prospect.
25% of sales people make a second contact and stop.
12% of sales people only make three contacts and stop.
Only, 10% of businesses make more than three contacts. This means they’re losing a small fortune.

Because…