My New Address

Check my new spot out at http://lissetteflores.com

What you should avoid in Social Media

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the state of social media, and I’m reminded of where we were in the mid-90s with the advent of the web. I lived and worked through Web 1.0, and am feeling a sense of déjà vu as we play out the same routines with Web 2.0 and beyond: social media is getting the same basic adoption patterns, the same reactions and overreactions. It’s just different tools and terminology. We have a long way to go before everyone and their cousin uses social networks more than they email, or tweets more than they call, but nobody can deny the way we communicate has once again been changed forever.

Here’s how I’d illustrate where we are in terms of social media tool adoption and integration into the fabric of our work and lives, as compared to early web adoption:

When I listen to people get all excited about social media as if it were some newfangled discovery, I keep wanting to say “It’s just online community. We’ve had that for over 20 years now. We’re just getting it via new applications with more integrated features. But it’s community!” Friends, fans and followers? We used to call them community members or our online friends.

Despite having been in this same place before, I have to admit I’m still excited about the possibilities. My concern is where things could be headed if we’re not smart about how we use the new tools at our disposal — we could end up repeating many of the mistakes made during the Web 1.0 years. With that in mind, here are my ten things to avoid in social media:

• Avoid the fishbowl syndrome. Those of us “in the know” are starting to like the sound of our own voices, but we’re really just preaching to the converted (yes, just like I’m probably doing now). Just because we know about social media doesn’t mean everyone does, or even cares about it. We need to jump out of our fishbowls and smell the air of reality. Get out into the world beyond your tweeps. It will do you good.
• Avoid glut and overload. Just because it’s there, it doesn’t mean you have to be on it. It’s our own fault that we are overloaded by every new social network or social tool out there, because we keep joining them. We don’t need them all and neither do our clients. A few strategically and thoughtfully selected networks, applications or tools can go much further than dozens of them. You don’t have to be everywhere.
• Avoid knee-jerk reactions. Don’t be so fast to say “yes” to social media, but don’t be so fast to say “no” either. Like with any good business — or life — decision, take your time, weigh the aspects and options, do your homework, turn to trusted friends and advisers, then make a deliberate decision. Don’t get a Facebook Page just because everyone else has one. Understand what you are trying to achieve, research if your audience is not only on Facebook but actually paying attention to anything other than their virtual farm crops, then plan your approach. Planning takes time.
• Avoid overreaching and overstating. Just because we feel social media is important doesn’t mean it is to everyone else. Those of us using the tools are doing so for a myriad of reasons, so we can’t lump everyone on a social network or with a blog into one box. Good communications and good customer service are still where it’s at. The delivery methods have changed rapidly, but it still boils down to the Golden Rule: the “Please” and “Thank You,” and the smile.
• Avoid the shingle phenomenon. Don’t join the people who add “Social Media” next to their title or company name and suddenly, they’re an expert. Or worse, they shell out a few thousand to someone else who claims to offer Social Media Certification, then they sucker in a bunch of unsuspecting clients and bring them on a reckless ride after only 40 hours of “intensive training.” Just don’t do it.
• Avoid the big plunge. I’ve always advised my clients to dip a toe into the water first to see if it’s warm. Don’t just pull out all the stops with social media. Use a phased approach to adopt new tools, technologies and tactics. You need to warm up, work out the kinks. Jumping into the deep end before you can swim only means you’re likely to drown.
• Avoid the quick hit. Social media is not a campaign; it’s a commitment. Plan for the long term. Take your time, and be deliberate about your actions. Measure. Evaluate. Improve what you are doing. Listen. Respond. Interact. Connect. Be there for the long haul. Learn and grow with your audience, your customers, your constituents. You now have unprecedented access to your customers. Use wisely.
• Avoid the numbers game. Sure you can use automated following tools and maybe get a slew of people following you back. But they’re not listening. They don’t care. I’ve always said that I’d rather have 100 friends, fans or followers who care than 1000 who ignore me.  Social media is not about the big numbers but what you do with the numbers you have — and what they do in return. Devoted actions of a few can have an exponential impact, far greater than inaction by many.
• Avoid the silos. Do not relegate social media to an afterthought. Do not get your communications or marketing team together, and then give the social media team the notes. Someone with social media savvy needs to be at the table from the start. Their knowledge and experience can better inform your brainstorming, can open new doors, can enhance old tactics or eliminate them all together.
• Avoid one-size-fits-all thinking. What’s good for your neighbor may not be good for you. What is good for one of your clients isn’t necessarily the right thing for all the rest. While it is tempting to squeeze social media into a formula or to make a template and mass produce campaigns, each company or organization or individual deserves a plan customized to their needs, tailored for their distinct audiences, and made to fit their capabilities. Greed drives automation, and automation drives mediocrity at best, expensive failures at worst.

Where do you think social media is right now? And what are you definitely trying to avoid?

Let me know leave your comments

“Our deepest fears

I love this poem so I waned to share it with all of you….

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  by Marianne Williamson

14 year old goes crazy over Mac Book Pro

Here’s a video clip of my 14year old daughter Tylia getting her first Macbook Pro.

Enjoy it’s hilarious…

Social Media- Is it a Fad?

Did You Know?

Check this vid out…

5 Power Tips On Network Marketing Prospecting

Network marketing prospecting is the major part of any network marketing concern. Nothing will replace it. This is the bread that is buttered to grease the wheels of the marketing machine, plain and simple. It is Ok to disagree with this, but it won’t change the reality of where your income is generated from.
Prospecting for leads is the backbone of all network marketing realities. You can have a few thousand people beating down the doors for the product, but if you think this is the way you will make your network income, then you are so very, very wrong.
The very nature of network marketing companies will not pay you to just sell the products. The real money and the incentives are all wrapped up with the downline you can create.
There is only one way to create a downline that will provide you with a solid income. You must venture out into the Internet and generate leads. There really is no other way. The alternative is to convince your family, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and second and third cousins (you never met) to become your downline. This would not be any fun at all.
Prospecting Through Your Website – Conveying The Message
1. Have a real passion for your company. This means you must be committed to the products, the company and your compensation plan.
If you do not have the passion for it, then find something else you have a passion for. Life is much to short to be diddling around with something you don’t really care about. In the end, you will not succeed. Blame it on God if you want to, but your commitment to the whole idea of a promotional website will slip down around your ankles if you are not passionate about this thing in your site’s promotion.
2. Have a good opener. When you get all of that traffic to your promotional website to become interested in your company, you better have a great opener to hold them, then keep them reading.

If your network is about a health and wellness company that is appealing to people that want to commit to a healthier lifestyle, then you must appeal to their need.Make your ad copy flow and be conversational. Engage the visitors to keep reading about the wonders of the products the company produces and how this makes everyone more vibrant, more alive. Talk to them about how their lives can change by becoming a distributor for something they truly believe in.
3. Talk about them, not you. Most people don’t like their jobs and feel they are missing their true calling. Hit some nerves. Talk about others that have discovered this wonderful company and how it changed their lives! Talk about how life began falling into place and began making sense again for others in your downline. Use testimonials!
4. Always address the company in positive ways, while addressing the old ways in a low key negative, and bouncing lightly between the two topics. Some of us feel lost and aimless, without direction when there is no place to go. Then one day, I found something to begin believing in again when I found this opportunity, etc.
5. Good prospecting for leads is to reassure the prospect. Let them know they have the talents and abilities to make a difference, not just in their lives, but everyone else’s too!
I know this sounds like a hype, but everyone has the abilities to reach up and inspire others. Too many people forgot they can do this. You are only reminding everyone that they can still inspire others. This old world could never turn without everyone in it pushing.
Marketing prospecting has always been about re-awakening the best of what we all have in us to shine with. By creating your promotional website to appeal to human nature in a positive way, you cannot go wrong. This will touch people in places they might not be aware of even having anymore. But this is actually helping prospects to find something you might have an answer for.

MICHAEL JACKSON DIED AT AGE 50

R.I.P

DIED 6.25.09

TMZ is reporting that Michael Jackson has died of cardiac arrest. Paramedics were called to his home this afternoon after the singer stopped breathing. When they arrived, he had no pulse and after repeated attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead. Jackson’s songs were featured on a number of different movie soundtracks over the years, and as an actor he appeared in the film The Wiz. Of course we’ll never forget his extended music video for Thriller, directed by John Landis. Though he’s had his share of problems and controversy over the years, it’s sad to hear that one of the great pop-culture icons of our generation has passed on. He was 50.

UPDATE: The LA Times now confirms through law enforcement officials that Jackson passed away after arriving at the hospital in a deep coma.

Still developing …

Remember the King of Pop with a look back at photos of music legend.

Network Marketing Training – Why’s It So Important

So you, like me, probably have some sort of business that you want to actually succeed in, right?  Well the truth is that there are all too many sources of information and misinformation out there and that they can all make our head spin.  The bottom line is this, you can build your success of off things like network marketing training so instead of wasting your time and your money learning how to make the best business cards, put it elsewhere.  This isn’t to say that business cards aren’t a powerful tool but we all want to know how we can hand more of them out every single day.
Sales are a numbers game, some call it a “contact sport”, and these are all just fancy buzz words for network marketing training.  You need to know how to effectively get in front of people, network in every opportunity that you can possibly presented with, and make things happen.  After all, most of us are in this game for the money, right?  Let’s cut back to the basics and look at it from that angle.  You started down this road, whether it’s your own business or something like multi level marketing with the intention of making money.
If you didn’t, well I’m not entirely sure why you’re here.  You’re not the type to be interested in network marketing training so you, on the other hand, can spend as much time as you want designing awesome looking business cards.  The rest of us, though, want a product that works and will help us get the money we’re after.  When it comes down to it, do you want your phone to ring 100 times a day or 10 times a day?  You need to build up your network, and continue to build it up, to get the type of business and wealth you’re after.
Network marketing training will help you do just that.  Find a good program that can help you to learn the basics of “keeping your pipeline full” with potential business leads that can have you constantly making great business deals.  You’ll learn how to surround yourself with people that are effective business contacts to help you continue to grow your business.  So invest in yourself, both with time and money, in great and useful network marketing training.  It’ll be some of the best money you’ll have ever spent.

Carlos Aponte Jr. – A Great Teacher

I consider myself to be a pretty awesome network marketer but like any good businessman, I understand that I must continue to improve myself.  The better I can become, the more I can succeed.  It was on one of my many searches to find a person or source to learn from when I discovered a man known as Carlos Aponte Jr.  There aren’t many network gurus out there but this man knows what he’s talking about.

Carlos Aponte Jr. is a guy with his head on straight that has a passion for what he does, plain and simple.  Not only does he have a powerful website that has provided me tools and lessons of some awesome things I haven’t even considered but he puts on lectures, which I will be attending shortly.  He’s a no BS guy who actually wants to help people, not just line his pockets with my hard earned greenbacks.  His website has given me a wealth of information and I think it will for you, too.  You can learn things like which books actually are beneficial, saving me hours digging through the online book stores and retailer’s shelves.

He’s taught me how to use things like social networking sites to absolute effectiveness, driving customers through my doors and increasing my paychecks.  Carlos Aponte Jr. is a powerful man in the sense that he knows what he’s doing and he can deliver on those promises.  He understands what’s real and cuts through all of the BS to give you what actually is effective.  Yes, to get the most information, you have to buy it but it’s an investment, not an expense.

People will invest in all kinds of things, whether it’s new cars, new homes, or new toys.  We’ll buy 15 new shirts but never even think about dropping a dime on the thing that creates the money we need to enjoy the lifestyle.  It’s something I’ve never understood and if you’re one of the people who are hesitant to spend money on learning some new tricks, think of it as paying for shortcuts if nothing else.  Yes, you can waste hours, days, even months digging through what’s real and what’s not and hope you reach a sound conclusion and hope you understand it.  Or, you can find a man like Carlos Aponte Jr. who knows what can make a difference and what you need to know.  Learn from the best, it’s as easy as that.