Dream Haus Communications

I’m in the process of launching a new site right now, dedicated to helping people think more creatively. You will love it! It’s a new and exciting project, which reminds me a lot of how I felt when I launched this blog, almost 4 years ago.

Interestingly, I am even more passionate and enthusiastic about Jim’s Marketing Blog today, than the day I wrote my first post. It is something that has grown into an increasingly important part of my life. This got me thinking:

Why is it that some projects enthuse and excite us more as time goes by, and others fade with time?

I’d love to hear your feedback on this, but here are my initial thoughts on the projects that continue to inspire and motivate us, based on my experience with Jim’s Marketing Blog.

Here are 4 things that came to mind immediately:

1. They are projects we have a passion for

This blog is all about marketing and business development, two areas I am passionate about. In addition, it also allows me to contribute and serve others, another key passion for me. The reason I look forward to working on this blog, is that it has never once felt like work.

2. They are projects where we see measurable progress in reasonable time

It’s a lot easier to be passionate about a project, when we can see our work paying off. The day I launched this blog, it had 1 subscriber (me) and a handful of posts. Today it has thousands of subscribers, thousands more daily readers, over 25,000 comments and it generates leads for my marketing business every day. Measurable progress is a great motivator.

3. They are projects that are consistent with our values

It’s hard to feel passionate about a project, when it runs against your values. I love the idea of giving as much free information away as possible. So much so, that every word on this site is offered to you under a Creative Commons license, which allows you to use it for free on your site or in your newsletters etc.

It would be harder to convince myself to write for you, if I was against the concept of giving freely to others.

4. They are projects, where we can use our creativity

The need to create is within all of us. From as far back as we can trace, people used whatever they had access to, to create something. From cave paintings and carvings, to the very first musical instruments, people have had a need to create. Writing blog posts on a regular basis is a very creative process and therefore provides a superb creative outlet. Projects that block you, for whatever reason, from pumping your creativity into them, are a lot less rewarding.

So, what would you add to that list – Things that help you feel passionate about what you do?

Originally posted on Jim’s Marketing Blog

The 2012 Community Manager Report

Community Manager is an essential, yet still uncharted territory for many companies that are expanding their presence on the social web.  What should you know about the current state of this position?

• 67% of Community Managers work for a brand
• The most popular city for Community Managers is New York
• 65% of Community Managers are Female

Be sure to check out the rest of this report presented by Social Fresh.

Google & FBI: All Your Social Data Are Belong to Us

For non-geeks, here’s the reference (Zero Wing video)

“Google Privacy Changes: What Do They Mean To You?” Google announced this week that it is rolling out a new, main privacy policy that covers the majority of its products. The company is consolidating over 60 privacy notices into the main privacy policy. User activities across Google web properties from Gmail to YouTube will be used to deliver customized ads. Via WebProNews.

“The FBI Wants to Monitor Social Media” The FBI is looking to develop a web application that can monitor social networks, including Facebook and Twitter, in order to gain better real-time intelligence about current or potential future security threats or situations. As with the Google combined service data collection, many people are thinking, “Weren’t they already doing this?” Via Mashable.

“McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong #McDStories” From McDonald’s PR: While #meetthefarmers was used for the majority of the day and successful in raising awareness of the Supplier Stories campaign, #mcdstories did not go as planned. We quickly pulled #mcdstories and it was promoted for less than two hours. Via Business Insider.

“Twitter Now Able To Censor Tweets, If Required By Law, On A Country-By-Country Basis” From Twitter: Starting today, we give ourselves the ability to reactively withhold content from users in a specific country — while keeping it up in the rest of the world. Danny Sullivan compares Twitter’s approach towards censorship to Google, which you might find interesting. Via Marketing Land.

The Online Marketplace is Competitive: Tips to Help You Meet the Challenge:

“The Top 51 stats for Generation Y marketers” How can marketers tap into this gadget-savvy, brand-aware demographic? The following statistics, taken from four recent reports listed below, provide an insight into the complex world of 13-24 year-olds. Via The Next Web.

“5 marketing Tips for Putting Customers First” The digital world of today offers many choices to customers, which means that marketing professionals have a tough job ahead of them.  We must not only ensure that our messaging is on target, but also work with our internal team to make sure that our promises can be delivered.  Via i Media Connection.

“10 Essential YouTube Tips and Tricks”  YouTube is currently getting over 3 billion views each day.  This article provides some great tips for getting more out of your YouTube experience including, improved search and better viewing options.  Via Mashable.

“10 Ways to Impress Your Industry’s Influencers” Often times your press releases are in the hands of influencers within the industry.  This article provides some great tips on identifying who these people are, buttering them up, and following their lead.  Via Ragan.

The TopRank Team Knows News

Brian Larson – “MarketingSherpa Research Shows the Avg B2B Deal on the Decline”
We know that B2B sales cycles are longer. The rebuttal from B2B’s has always been ‘the size of our sales are far greater’.  What if that changed? With B2B deal sizes diminishing, do B2B’s need to focus on increasing sales volume or developing new ways to demonstrate value and win back larger sales? Or both? The answers to these questions are sure to influence online marketing strategies.  Via Marketing Sherpa.

Ken Horst – “Social media for the complex sale: Where should you start?”
While most B2B companies are heavily invested in their social channels today; many are finding that for at least Facebook and Twitter, these may not be the best channels for companies with a longer sales cycle.  The good news is that in this post, the author lists 10 other social media outlets that B2B marketers could use to help prime the pump for those longer sales cycle products and services. Via SmartBlog.

Emily Conley – “Google Announces Privacy Changes Across Products; Users Can’t Opt Out”
Google released an announcement on Jan. 24th stating that the company plans to follow users’ activities across the majority of its sites, including YouTube, Gmail and Google search. With no opt-out option, as of March 1st all logged in Google users will be sharing data that will enable Google to create more complete user portraits.  The change opens new debate around privacy and competitive practices.  Via Washington Post.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2012. |
Online Marketing News: Women Dominate Community Management, Google Privacy, FBI Social, Twitter Censorship, McD Hashtag Gone Wrong | http://www.toprankblog.com

Originally posted on TopRank

My mentor, the late great Jim Rohn used to say:

Just as you once dreamed, you can dream again. Just as you once believed, you can believe again. No matter where we are right now, we still have the ability to change it all.

Changing course

It’s easy to look at where we are right now and think that this is it. The reality, is that we are in a constant process of becoming. As soon as we decide we want something better, we can change the set of our sail and point ourselves in the correct direction.

It starts with the decision to improve our thinking. Just as our past thoughts led us to where we are today, if we want a better tomorrow, we need to improve the quality of our thinking today. Things only improve, when we do.

Jim Connolly can help you grow your business and achieve the breakthrough marketing results your hard work deserves. To find out more, simply click here!

Photo credit

Originally posted on Jim’s Marketing Blog