Just Mike

365 Things

// April 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Social Media, Thoughts

I was talking to Dale Chumbley yesterday about his famous Facebook page “365 Things To Do In Vancouver” and came away with two important points.

One is that it is much easier to guess why something worked than predict it and control it. He gained 1000’s of fans within the first week and did zero to promote it.  Everyone assumes he did at first and they say it only happened because of whatever strategies he set into motion.  There weren’t any.  It was very organic in creation and growth.  People just liked it.  I am sure an outsider is guessing how Dale did it and they will miss that, as always, killer content was the key.  If my point is too rambling just look at any company that tried to create a viral video. It almost never works.  The public decides when something works not matter how we try to finagle, poke, or control it.

Second is that by saying “365 Things To Do In Vancouver” he is making a  underlying promise to me. Most will assume he is referring to how many days there are in a calendar.  The promise is that he will bring me something new every day, or darn near close.   If I like his content at the outset I will be back because I believe he will do this every day.  His site becomes a part of the community because they accept him or form a community around him.

If you have been around blogs long enough you know many die a long death of neglect.  It is easy to put off a new post until tomorrow’s tomorrow.  It is hard to keep the attention of an internet surfer, almost by default they have attention deficit.  After looking through similar “things to do” pages I notice the 365 prefixed pages typically have  more fan.  We are on the internet to be stimulated much like the rat hitting the bar in his cage to get a food pellet.

This is one of the principles that Pouregon (launching May 1st) will work on.  I have said over and over that I believe the rigid schedule of guaranteed posts seven days a week at 6am, 10am, and 12pm will set in the brain of readers knowing they can come back day after day.

And no matter how much I try to control or predict, the public will decide if they like it.

Basic Twitter Tips

// April 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Social Media

I am launching my new site Pouregon.com on May 1st.  While I am looking over websites and Twitter accounts of wine, beer, and coffee shops I see tiny mistakes that take a moment rectify.

The bio is there to tell who you are and how to contact you.  I see it over and over. @CompanyX tweeting for you to come down for their special but no website link, just their funky username, and no way to find them.  People forget that websites and social media are not just for your current fans but to help new people find you; make it easy.

Your Twitter account should have a username, which is your @XXXXXX, and your profile name, which instead of your business name, I believe it should be your field.  For @MikeCanDoIt, my profile name is Portland Real Estate.  My follower count has surpassed others who may be more influential than me but I am easier to find.  On @Pouregon, my profile name is Oregon Wine and Beer.  If you Google “Oregon Wine and Beer” Pouregon’s twitter account lands anywhere from #1 to #7.  Twitter is powerful, use it.

But remember followers aren’t everything.  Keep that in the back of your mind. Some people will be influenced by the number you have but after a while many understand it doesn’t mean a lot.  But the more you have there is more potential to connect.

Make sure your name is capitalized in the right places.  My website mikecandoit.com had one marketer call me looking for Mr. Candoit (candwa).  One Twitter it is MikeCanDoIt.  I convinced on lady that I saw her non-capitalized name as CindysHair not CindyShair, and that was the most gentle mistake I have made  reading usernames