Social Media is NOT Tree Hugging!

 Thanks to Jason Keath of Social Fresh for sharing this video of Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer


SoFresh Nashville - Jason Falls Recap from jason keath on Vimeo.

So I love how Jason Falls refers to the Social Media Purists as "tree huggers who hold hands and sing Kumbaya! Too funny, but he makes such a valid point!  If you aren't making money then Social Media is just a hobby!

The ever lasting question always comes back to ROI and monetizing.  If you aren't generating business then what the heck are you doing?

There are sooooo many social media evangalists out there right now - how the heck do you weed through all the information and hype?

I say find some local experts that you trust who you can engage in conversations with you who have a background in marketing and understand the fundamentals of tracking and hitting target audience; sociology and behaviour marketing as well as conversational marketing strategy.

The GREAT thing about Social Media is it attracts experts and newbies together to share information but bottom line is building relationships/brand awareness and generating business!  Stop huggin those trees!

casaGURU

I've stumbled upon an online network that 'connects homeowners with house experts'. A collection of everything to do with owning a home from buying to staging to renovating!

The site claims to prescreen all of their experts and after you fill out a few questions, they will match you to your qualified expert in your area - a sort of online dating if you will.

http://www.casaguru.com/home

Very curious to see if this becomes a useful tool for my clients and for me...yet to be determined...let me know what you think!

Social Media Guru Guy Kawasaki and ME!

IMG_2105
Originally uploaded by kempedmonds

Guy is a hero for most of us in the social media community He's most known for being one of the original employees working for Apple who marketed the MAC! He's also cheif aggregator at ALLTOP (a collection of all the top stories on line where I spend a lot of time) :http://alltop.com/

He is in town for the Olympics and was generous enough with his time to come give us a quick visit at our Hockey Tweetup! What a treat!
(This photo is where I'm explaining how incredibly important I am in this town - hehe)

The Power of Personality

One thing I've learned about being a blogger on a building materials site:  I'm not really writing about building materials.
Well, I sort of am.
In the spirit of creating themed content for a building materials site, I actually do write about wood flooring, for instance.  I talk about the different kinds of wood floors there are, and about how to install them, and take care of them.  I talk about color ranges, and grain patterns, too.  I talk about durability and longevity.

But, beneath that surface, what I'm really talking about is personality.  That's what people really care about. 
All of those other things are just a means to that end.  The means is the kind of building materials I'm talking about within a blog post, or an article, or even a tweet on Twitter.  But, the end is all about taking a space, and taking material objects within that space, and turning it into something that isn't material - home.

This dovetails quite nicely into the world of selling a home, or buying one.  It's not the flooring, the framing, the natural stone tile in the bathroom, the granite or marble countertops that you're looking for in a new home. Those things aren't even the point when you're renovating your current home with an eye to sell it.
No.
It's about taking that space and transforming it, making it into a place that has the mark of - that word again -  personality.  And when you're looking for a new place to live, it's that personality that you're really attracted to.  The surfaces, the colors, the overall look of a place is just the way that personality is expressed, through the eye, and with the care, of a homeowner who is like you or somehow complements the way you feel most comfortable in a space.
So, when writing about building materials, and when our company sells them, it's understood that what we're actually dealing in is opportunities for people to express their personalities, their taste, their sense of what comfort is, to other people.  And when they have a handle on what it is that they're really buying, then building materials become more than just commodities.
They become a means to create art with their own personalities at the very center of it.  That's what makes a home.  And that's what helps you sell one, too.

***

Rob Jones is a blogger and social media enthusiast who works for online building materials innovators BuildDirect in the marketing department.  Apart from writing the BuildDirect building materials blog and green blog, he is a dad of a 4 year old, and is a fan of pop music and jazz about which he also blogs.  He lives in New Westminster, B.C.

Olympic Fever Sweeping Over Me!

If this doesn't get you in the mood....well you must be dead!

I'm SO excited about the opening day of Vancouver 2010!  If you follow me on Twitter you may want to follow my Canadian Athletes Olympic list for updates straight from the athletes themselves!

I'll be downtown tonight directly across the street from the opening ceremonies looking down on BC Place!  And of course hitting the streets with my fellow Canadians, Visitors and Olympians!

GO CANADA!!

The Doctrine of Stephen Jagger

How could I have known when I met him how completely he would change my life but Stephen Jagger is my Redeemer!

Struggling to establish myself on my path in Real Estate, Stephen Jagger became my beacon and in the process introduced me to my new passion:  All things Social Media!

Stephen is the most laid back, humble, and generous business savvy entrepreneur that I have ever met.  At the ripe old age of 32 he already is owner/principle of 3 successful companies Ubertor.com, Reachd.com and Outsourcingthingsdone.com.

Achieving his successes have come, I believe, from his uncanny ability to stay ahead of the curve and anticipate the new styles of business and foreseeing opportunities!

His ability to keep his finger on the pulse of future trends is why he became my Social Media Guru.  He introduced me to GaryVaynerchuk and Chris Brogan and Seth Godin and now he's co-written his own book with Shane Gibson on the subject called Sociable.

I'm now entering the consulting world of Social Media (a fabulous compliment to my Real Estate Career) and feel reborn in my new found passion! I'm proud to say Stephen is my friend and I will continue to look to him for future trends and business best practices.

sidebar: I've written this post as an entry to win a free trip to Chicago for #SOBCon2010 (the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference) so please SHARE cause lord knows I can use all the help I can get!!

Thanks Steve and cheers!

Electric Olympic Vibe Sinking In!

Talk about getting you in the mood! The official Vancouver Olympic Song - if it doesn't move you there's something wrong with you!

Not the "Same Old, Same Old"

Watching the news has gotten pretty boring...its always the same old thing - UNTIL Jimmy Fallon decided to "Slow Jam the News" with Brian Williams of NBC....
you ain't never seen the news this way!!! Enjoy!

New Social Media Meetup Group

I'm really excited about the new Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup Group!

Meetup.com is such an amazing tool to connect local people of similar interests in a casual and engaging environment!

Our 1st meeting will be some time after the Olympics when things settle down a bit and we plan to have Stephen Jagger and Shane Gibson authors of Sociable be our guest speakers! Will be a fabulous event and everyone is welcome! Add yourself to the group and stay tuned for details about dates and venues!

Cheers!

...and the wheels on the bus go round and round.

I love this video!  You may have seen it before, but its so powerful and illustrates so beautifully why you must embrace the New World of Social Media!

I've built my entire business around this form of marketing!  The old school ways of marketing are dying a slow death.  Will there always be commercials and print ads - oh sure of course.  But think about it...how do you do your shopping as a consumer?  Most of us begin our search online these days.  We're savvy and shop around, do some research and cannot be fooled into throwing our money away and then usually buy from someone we either know of feel we know.

We're much more inclined to do our business with someone we've built a relationship with or feel a connection to, so building your brand online has never been more important.

I LOVE social media because....well - It's SOCIAL!  The age of competition is edging out while the new age of cooperation is rolling in.  Your clients/customers won't tolerate a 'gate-keeper' style of information collection any longer. They'll do business with you BECAUSE you generously share it and become a source of value.

If you would like to know more about how you can build your brand online utilizing social media,  I can help!  Ask me your questions!

Just found this new video! Get on the bus people!