In the world of social networks, I think we discover excellence faster. By definition, we also uncover frauds and mediocrity quicker. For the few consultants who can leverage social networks, good for them!

On another note, Twitter is bigger than it’s ever been and at the same time more inane than it’s ever been.

Here’s a kick: I’ve written about being “blambushed.” Every morning my Google Alerts show me blogs with headlines such as, “Jane takes on guru Alan Weiss,” and “Billy gets the best of Alan Weiss.” They then go on to make selective points out of context, of course.

How would you like to be so pathetic that you have to boast that you’ve done battle with a thought leader and “won”? Or have a crony do it? People are desperate to cling to some imagined fame. How about creating your own intellectual property and innovative approaches? Well, that does sound like work.

There are some fabulous blogs out there in the ethos. But most of them are crap. There are strong relationships and learning often fostered in social media on the net. But that’s not the way to meet executive-level buyers, and much of it is insipid, inane, and obscene. Why are people so threatened with an objective assessment of reality?

I was introduced, during my induction into the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame® as “one of the three geniuses in this profession.” I know what everyone in the room of 1700 was thinking: “It’s him, me, and I wonder who else?”

(Oh, oh, duck, here come some more people to “win” by pointing out some exception on an unreadable site….)

Unfortunately the reason they are crap is the issue. Social media campaigns created without a specific target and promotion to an audience fall into the age old problem of “if you build it, they won’t come”

If a social media campaign has worthwhile effort placed into it, the information being presented needs to be matched with an equal amount of effort researching and promoting to the demographic you are trying to reach.

Each type of social media has a specific audience mentality, which is further defined by the types of information presented with it. Blogs are not Twitter, and Facebook is not Myspace.

Knowing how to do competitive research online through social media is key to presenting information. An effective social media campaign to reach corporate decision makers may not include having a blog at all, but knowing how to implement a campaign on places those individuals are.

Example: I spend a good amount of time looking at when, where, and why specific executives are engaged online. Some visit sites like FastCompany or Linkedin, some frequent user sites like Yelp. I also know many have Google Alerts setup looking at their name, and rather than send them an e-mail I can simply make sure it goes into the search systems and is optimized for team entire executive team’s personal names.

In any case, just blindly writing on a blog and hoping prospects will fall from the sky is fairly absurd.

But I would happily bet that Twitter, or similar, will not only still be here in 1-2 years time. But it will also be more mainstream and pervasive (possibly within private business usage).

Printed material, however, will continue to decline…

I hadn’t heard of you previous to this, but came across the first part of this post series via another blog. There is a large uprising of social marketing advocates in part because they feel threatened; a lot of this due to your writing style, which strikes me as talking down to people. For instance, you say things such as “you fail to see the point” in rebuttals. Unfortunately, accusatory statements such as that do little to engage otherwise misunderstanding readers.

Because I’m considering a career as a marketing consultant, I’ll follow your blog for a bit and see if I can derive value. Honestly though, the “self aggrandizing” you claim to be lacking here (from the about section) seems to saturate your writing when someone questions your logic. I find that type of person difficult to stomach so we’ll see if it works out.

Good luck to you.

Finally, as far as getting business, just today I had a person call to register for one of my Presentation Boot Camps. Upon asking her how she heard of me she said, “I ran across your blog.” I think I’ll keep the money ;-]

Thanks for your blog Alan. It brings value and thought-provoking ideas for me.

Why is there a problem with publishing *both* on a blog and in paper format? I’ve seen Alan republish plenty of articles from his books here in blog format, and many, many blog authors have got deals with publishers to republish their blogs in paper- or hard-back.

Adam:

I think that you have a point there, but what about the huge number of 1 percenters? Shouldn’t they give us a good name?

Adam

Say, at 30 minutes per day, if you produce 1 page in a half hour, you can produce about 2.5 pages in a week and about 10 pages a month. Not exactly gangbusters, but if you combine it with all the other wasted time, plus actual writing that is done, then you CAN produce a book or a series of articles.

These will generate much more marketing gravity than the odd chance at success with a blog for a unknown.

I just finished reading your comments and those of Seth Godin regarding blogs, facebook, and twitter. I must confess that, I have set up accounts on Facebook and Linkedin. I find some of the features they have are useful, but I don’t spend a great deal of time on them because they can become all consuming. Twitter is something I just don’t understand and refuse to take any more of my time trying to understand it.

Your comments about most blogs being crap struck a nerve. Since you started your blog, I’ve been a steady reader and look for it on a regular basis. I don’t know what your decision process is for your topic selection, but I have always found whatever you write on seems on target, answers a question I have or provides that lift I need for the day. When I decided to create my blog I tired to make sure, that it wouldn’t fall into the category of crap by selecting topics I can write on that will provide information that readers find intelligent, insightful, and informative. Using your blog as model, I’m constantly trying to make sure that what I do demonstrates a similar level of quality as does your blog.

As a consultant, I have a great deal of respect for you and the wisdom you share with those of us in the consulting field. I have a great deal of respect for your knowledge and insight and I’m trying to pattern my practice after yours believing that if I follow your advice I too can have my version of a million dollar consulting business.

If you are speaking about old-fashion blogs with frequent posts but unfocused content – yes, you are right.

You are right – a lot of blogs are crap, abandoned, poor managed etc, etc…

But there are good ones too. Even five years ago there were blogs from non-stars with good content.

And recently rules have changed dramatically. In the past few years blogging and a business blogging have diverged. A good written, focused blog can surely built OK, significantly help to built you a brand.

And a lot of cases support this.

I even wrote an entire e-book on this topic – “The New Rules of Business Blogs”. You are welcome to check it out in my blog at http://www.positioningstrategy.com. Please feel free to post it on your blog or pass the e-book to whomever you believe might benefit from reading it.

I am a huge fan of your work. MDC has been incredibly useful in helping me to get to the million dollar level.

However, it sounds like you underestimate the power of a blog as a key element of “creating market gravity.” (Yes, I have dog-eared exhibit 2-3 in my copy of your MDC book.)

My experience has been different. I only post about 2X per week at my blog (http://www.DrugChannels.net), but there have been at least five tangible MDC-related benefits for me:

(a) The blog has deepened my client relationships because retainer clients get an inbound reason to contact me for “the inside scoop” and specific application to their business. IOW, the blog is just one more form of periodic client communication.

(b) I have built new client relationships by increasing inbound inquiries. Certain key words will bring up my blog at the top of natural search results — no paid search!

(c) I have “expanded the envelope” by writing about topics for which I was not perceived to be a resource — and thereby landed new business with existing clients and added new types of clients.

(d) I have increased my visibility with the media, most of whom will google for sources before writing a story.

(e) The discipline of a blog forces me to stay current with new developments. This also helps to keep me energized and engaged.

Sure, thousands of people read my blog and never contact me. But a blog is just one piece of my ongoing and neverending efforts to build market gravity and create opportunities (along with everything else in exhibit 2-3). A well-done professional blog has an effect similar to writing a regular newspaper column. As a bonus, I have accumulated 60%+ of the material for my next book.

However, I only recommend a blog to solo practitioners who can write quickly and accurately. (I try to limit myself to no more than 2 hours per week on the blog.) Like anything else, it requires ongoing commitment and consistency. YMMV.

I agree with you about twitter — no idea how that will help a solo consultant. Perhaps someone can post positive MDC experiences and enlighten me.

Adam

Thanks for your comments. I agree with your overall points, but I would say to you:

The one million non-crap blogs get overwhelmed by the crap!

“Niche” blogs are fine, but have nothing to do with my attempt to help consultants build independent businesses.

Numbers of users, as in Twitter, mean very little for my purposes. My whole point is the need to avoid the dumbing down caused by crazed egalitarianism. Millions of people bought pet rocks. Tens of millions thought Titanic was a good movie. So what? Mass taste has no bearing when consultants are looking for specific and differentiated buyers with very particular tastes.

What no one seems to understand is that I’m not talking about the dynamics of the Internet in a grand, paradigm-shifting, brave-new-world mindset. I’ll leave that to Seth and others, who do a fine job with it.

I’m trying to guide solo practitioners to the best return on investment for their time and money, focusing on corporate buyers. I’m totally uninterested in some guy who got on Good Morning America because his blog scooped ABC, or some woman who gets 100,000 hits on YouTube because she posts a video of her practicing in ballet shoes (true story).

This is ContrarianConsulting.com, and we’re talking about standing out in a crowd here, not being swept along with it. Herds are death to independent thinkers.

The key, to me, is where you put your limited time and effort. Do you go with the one off possibility of a breakthrough essentially based on chance, or do you go with the tried and true method?

The problem for most people is that commercial publishing is hard, and you actually have to have something to say and be able to say it coherently and cogently. Most people therefore just choose to blog and twitter, rather than do the hard work that has a better chance of building a brand.

Richard Martin

Technorati claim[1] to be tracking 112.8 million blogs currently – there are more than this online but let’s be conservative. You say that you think 99% of blogs are crap. However, that 1% still totals well over 1 million blogs!

Secondly, plenty of that 99% of crap are actually just blogs in niche areas that are of no value to the majority. But they provide high value to those who are interested in those niches.

Finally, I can’t stand Twitter myself, but it has a massive fanbase. Gone in a year or two? I’ll bet you a favourable citation that you’re 100% wrong on that one

Regards,
Alastair.

1. http://technorati.com/about/