Bootstrap Business is ready to ship!

September 3, 2009 SEVIERVILLE, TENNESSEE — In the summer of 2008, Chicke Fitzgerald, consultant, keynote speaker and author, was selected from a nationwide search to be featured in Bootstrap Business; a highly successful book series from Tennessee based Insight Publishing. The book is now available for sale (http://www.solutionz.com/publications.asp).

The book features best-selling authors Tom Hopkins (How to Master the Art of Selling), Jack Canfield (One Minute Manager), and John Christensen (FISH!). Chicke Fitzgerald, Hopkins, Canfield, and Christensen are joined by other well known authors and speakers, each offering time-tested strategies for success in frank and intimate interviews.

As the founder and CEO of Tampa-based Solutionz Group, Chicke Fitzgerald has spent the last 13 years solving business growth challenges for corporations, nurturing early-stage companies and coaching top executives and entrepreneurs around the globe.

With 30+ years in the travel industry, Chicke is a recognized authority on distributions models, whose expert perspective is frequently sought by the investment community and media. Fitzgerald is currently affiliated with the Gerson Lehman Group and has been among the top investment advisors for the internationally renowned GLG Expert Network™.

She is also passionate about helping others master the use of technology and social media to foster growth through her Solutionz Media division. Since January of 2009 she has interviewed more than 150 authors and experts on her Solutionz Live! show on BlogTalkRadio.com and on the Executive Girlfriends' Group (http://www.executivegirlfriendsgroup.com).

When she is not coaching, speaking or consulting, Chicke enjoys spending time with her family in Tampa, Florida. She also dedicates time, energy and resources to a local organization known as Real Estate Lives, mentoring displaced employees hard hit by the mortgage banking crisis and working with the organization’s leadership to build a similar model for other industries and communities to replicate.

To discuss speaking opportunities with Chicke Fitzgerald and to order your copy of Bootstrap Business, contact:

Chicke Fitzgerald | 813-925-0789 | chicke@solutionz.com or visit www.solutionz.com

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #6 REFERRAL

One of the things you will notice about the ladder in this segment of the Word of Mouth Media discussion on the relationship ladder is that there are some new words.

As we look back on Rung #1 - SPAM, it is accompanied by the emotion that is generated by this kind of activity - DISDAIN. And even as we move up to Rung #2 - NOISE (slightly more targeted communications than Rung #1), it can still elicit IRRITATION.

Hopefully once you have reached Rung #3 and have started getting a response, you have your audience INTRIGUED. But intrigue isn't enough to keep you moving up in engagement with your prospects.

Rung #4 - DIALOGUE gets you to a place where you can distinguish true INTEREST in whatever you are offering (whether selling a product or a service, or trying to get someone to believe in you or your ideas).

A level of COMFORT results from getting to Rung #5 - CONVERSATION. This can be comfort with your product or service or just comfort with the fact that someone cares enough to fully converse with them about what they are after versus just what you are offering.

Rung #6 is really the Holy Grail for most marketers and that is getting to a place where you can actually get the client/prospect to TRUST you.

This is also where you begin to move your own needle by getting the referral for (or conversion to ) a sale. It is also the place where if you deliver against your promise in both the product or service and the whole set of experiences pre- and post-sale, then you have a great chance of this person referring you to others. TRUST is an essential component of relationship and of continued engagement.

So this is the place that you must be if you are counting on viral marketing as a core component of your marketing plans.

Stay tuned for the last rung, REPUTATION, coming tomorrow.

Chicke Fitzgerald | founder Solutionz Media and CEO Solutionz Group www.solutionz.com

Solutionz Signs of Success: SOCIAL PROOF

Social proof
If you do a Google™ search on this term, you will find that it is not a new term. In fact, it was used as early as 1951 in a Los Angeles Times article on Teen Etiquette, talking about "following sporting rules with cheerful courtesy", which would yield social proof that you were indeed "growing up".

In the current vernacular, the term "social proof" has to do with the results yielded by an individual or a company's involvement in word of mouth, or social media. Put more simply, demonstrating success.

My contention is that most companies are not yet sure what proof they are looking for to justify the time spent on social media. Indeed most have not yet reached a stage where they themselves have "following the rules with cheerful courtesy" demonstrating that they are indeed "grown up" in their use of the range of new tools, which include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Digg, Google Friend Connect, FriendFeed (just acquired by Facebook), etc.

It reminds me of when the term "new media" became vogue in the early 90s. The Internet was still in its infancy and the term actually related to the use of "multi-media" and new platforms such as Compuserve and Prodigy to reach consumers. The proliferation of PC use in the home was what sparked the growth of this media. Eventually of course, new becomes old and we have to come up with new terms.

New media was focused on companies reaching their audiences, largely by using older mass media techniques based on traditional advertising. In traditional advertising, companies looked for return on investment, with a pure ratio between spend and sales. Ad agencies guided the way, expert in all things "new media".

We in the travel industry are fortunate, because we didn't have to rely on just the advertising model in our foray into the online world. We quickly became the leader in what is now known as eCommerce, because we had automated systems already in place to allow people to purchase our products and services. But it can't stop there. Consumers have moved beyond just using travel sites for eCommerce and now demand the word of mouth elements - sharing reviews/feedback, sharing knowledge and not just relying on expert views of destinations and products.

Word of Mouth media isn't as simple as eCommerce. It involves not only companies talking to consumers, but consumers talking to consumers and consumers talking about companies and their products and services. The one thing that Word of Mouth media has in common with its predecessor is that it is a major factor in brand building, but in its infancy and in the hands of those that are not yet "grown up", it may not have a direct correllation to driving sales. So the best measure at the outset is what I have dubbed "ROIT™" or return or investment of time.

As you look at the relationship ladder that must be climbed in word of mouth media (see http://www.wordofmouthmedia.blogspot.com), most companies are still on the bottom rungs (SPAM and NOISE), which relate to more traditional mass media reach - quantity over quality. Getting to the top rungs (REFERRAL AND REPUTATION/BRAND) require a much stronger focus on delivering relevant information and in fact, forming relationship.

Those are the tenets of strategy that must be deployed as you look at using social media and word of mouth as tools in achieving your goals and getting yourself or your company on the social graph.

NYT - Worst Part of a Trip May Be Booking It on the Web

By SUSAN STELLIN

Published: August 3, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/business/04frustrate.html

How Social Media is Changing Travel

Got a complaint? Sound off publicly on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

By Ed Hewitt

updated 3:32 p.m. ET, Thurs., July 30, 2009

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32106201/ns/travel-tips/

Social Proof - Simon U Ford beats Google at their own game on YouTube

Beating Google Friend Connect is a real testament to what can be done when you get a group of advocates together to make a point. Simon U Ford and his Social Traffic VIP team set out to "own" the term Google Friend Connect on YouTube and have successfully outpaced Google's own developers. Word of mouth media is the most powerful when you use the right tools. Simon has cracked the code on this one.

Leveraging Google Friend Connect

Watch this video and learn about how the Google Friend Connect feature can help you grow your social graph. Simon U Ford gives a very succinct view of GFC and how it fits into your use of word of mouth media.

Word of Mouth Media minute - Making a YouTube video - you just gotta laugh

In this Word of Mouth Media Minute, Chicke Fitzgerald talks about the practical side of making a YouTube video. If it isn't perfect, remember "you just gotta laugh!".

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #5 CONVERSATION

Bravo, you've gotten past thinking that SPAM and NOISE are good ways to get sales referrals or to gain a reputation (a good one that is). You've even gotten some folks to respond to you as you comment on various articles and blogs. RESPONSE is good.

Perhaps you have taken the big step beyond 140 character communication (aka Twitter or any other micro-blogging/status update) and have become a citizen of the blogosphere.

The secret there of course is saying something that people are interested and of course, working to engage them in DIALOGUE. That gets you as far as Rung #4.

So how do you get to Rung #5, CONVERSATION?

What is the real difference between online dialogue and conversation? I would distill it down to one word - ENGAGEMENT.

You can see that I've added the word engagement to sit across from the word relationship. True relationship is built over time and quite often involves "knowing" the person, either personally by meeting face to face or by talking over the phone (or Skype). Engagement can occur with people that you don't "know" in any sense other than dialogue over the Internet.

You don't normally use the term dialogue with people that you know intimately (e.g. "I had a great dialogue with my husband Michael yesterday"). No, that is a conversation.

What we are talking about here is the degree of engagement, the degree of relationship.

Stay tuned to hear about the next rung, which requires you to also add in a large dose of trust into the equation.


Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #4 DIALOGUE

You've invested a lot of time in trying to elicit a response. Perhaps the reason that you haven't been successful (yet!) is that you are spread too thin.

This week I made a major decision which was predicated by coming to the realization that I was indeed spread too thin, in a lot of areas of my life, including social media.

For those that know me well, you'll understand that it takes a lot to get me to that point, as multi-tasking is my middle name.

I realized this week that I needed to narrow my focus back to what I both know and am known for, which is within travel, mapping and navigation. Then I can leverage what I've learned in social media and in doing the radio show (www.blogtalkradio.com/solutionzlive).

Getting people engaged in dialogue online is getting more and more difficult. Case in point is Groups on Facebook and Linked In. Lots of people join them, perhaps to have that "badge" on their profile so people know what they are interested in, but very few people get engaged to the point where they are actually eliciting dialogue.

Dialogue is first and foremost a function of LISTENING. You can't have a meaningful dialogue if you are the only one talking. That is called monologue for a reason. So the difference between Rung #3 of trying to elicit a response and #4, DIALOGUE is how much listening you are doing versus talking.

Is your response one that is just intended to turn the attention back to you? Or do you really care about the other person's views and their needs?

One of the characteristics of true online dialogue is when it has more than a single cycle (e.g. a comment that may have a response, but no more interaction) or when someone else chimes in, having found value in your contribution.

To get to multiple cycles, well, that is Rung #5 - Conversation. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | founder | Solutionz Media 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS - The Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #3 RESPONSE

You fully understand that rung #1 of the ladder is spamming and you've gotten past rung #2, noise.

You get it -- that in order to really make a dent in the social grid, you have to get folks engaged. You need to get a response -- to get noticed.






Quite often, the first step is following the big boys, the leaders of the social media pack.

You read their blogs, you comment, you try to get noticed for your clever observations. You join Digg, Disqus, Reddit, Newsvine and others and post your comments and even check that you want to "follow the dialogue". But the transom is silent.

You "retweet" their posts on Twitter. You shift your strategy to retweeting the posts of people that you know and follow.

You comment on their YouTube videos and even venture out into doing video comments.

Perhaps you are bold enough to launch your own blog or post articles on eZine.com. You even add a Google FriendFeed to your blog to give the hordes a way to signal their response.

While you are pursuing relationship and engagement, which is better than noise,
at this juncture, what you are still doing says loud and clear, "Listen to me! I matter!". It simply isn't enough to just talk or to hope that you can elicit a response.

Getting past the response stage takes time and energy. Getting to dialogue isn't easy, but the good news is that it is possible. Stay tuned. We're going there next.

#SMTIPS - The Word of Mouth Media Relationship Ladder - Rung #2 NOISE

OK, so now you understand that even though spamming is something you can do quickly and really quite effortlessly, it is not a wise move in social media by anyone's measure.

The next step up on the ladder is NOISE.

No one likes to be called "noisy", yet, this is typically the first step for someone who decides to "graduate" from email spamming or the social media equivalent of mindless autoresponders trying to "sell" your idea or product to whoever follows you on social media.

Noise in Word of Mouth Media™ is the equivalent of going to a party and walking from group to group, introducing yourself and spouting off whatever you want to say and walking away without even knowing whether anyone cared or wanted to learn more.

Engagement does NOT follow noise, nor does conversion.

One of my favorite authors is Sam Horn. She wrote a great book called POP! with the sub-title of stand out in any crowd. Trust me, it doesn't include instructions for how to generate "noise". What Sam does talk about is how to get from the place where someone "furrows their brow", which translates into not being very happy about whatever just happened, or worse, no "brow reaction", to the place where you get a positive response (or in social media terms, someone commenting on your post, your tweet or your video) that looks more like raised eyebrows, which signifies visually "Wow!" or "I get it!".

We'll talk more about engagement when we talk about Rung #3 - RESPONSE. Stay tuned!

Chicke Fitzgerald | Solutionz Media | 813-925-0789

#SMTIPS The Word of Mouth Media Reputation Ladder - Rung #1 SPAM

Of all of the things that I've learned in my 6 month immersion into social media, this one is the most important. It is so important, that I'm going to break it into a series of posts, each one addressing the various rungs of the relationship ladder.

RUNG #1 - SPAM
Without any training or strategy, most everyone that wants to get across a point, get people to an event, or to somehow get them into your sales funnel, begin online at the bottom rung of the Word of Mouth media™ relationship ladder.

SPAM is not just a brand of canned mystery meat, it is what happens when you attempt to have some sort of dialogue or conversation (or what you think might appear to someone as such) without any form of current relationship.

I say current, because most of us have been building our email list (aka address book) for more than a decade. We have everyone from friends and family, to business colleagues, clients, former clients, all the way down to the guy you sat next to on an airplane in 2002, but can't even remember why you thought he was important enough to add to your address book.

We've all done it. You are in a hurry, so you send out a notice of a product launch, an event, a company announcement or even a particularly funny joke, but what you forget to do is to ensure that the person on the other end will actually (a) remember you; (b) care about what you want them to care about.

It goes without saying that this is not only not a good idea, but it is actually counterproductive on a number of fronts.

1. You stand to alienate people that you actually care about a great deal (either personally or professionally).
2. You don't give them a graceful way to tell you that they don't care or more likely, don't have the time for whatever you want them to care about
3. You don't sway them to your way of thinking (they hit delete or navigate away from your post, or worse, unfriend you electronically) before they figure out what it is you really want
   

So, if you are on this rung, STOP | THINK | DON'T SPAM. Stay tuned for Rung #2.

#SMTIPS Word of Mouth Media

Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded with someone trying to get our attention; someone trying to sell us something. We become desensitized to it and in fact, set up rules in our email to filter it out and deploy pop up blockers in our browser to keep from being bothered by the "pitch". We abandon groups on Facebook or LinkedIn when they cease sharing information and begin selling products or services.

This week I was talking to a colleague about the term Social Media and he suggested that we really need to coin another term. He suggested "Word of Mouth Media", which I think says it all.

When we really like a product or a service (or we've had a bad experience), the first thing that we do instinctively is to share it with others. Voila! Word of mouth. It is as old as the hills as a form of communication.

Next week I'm going to explore the power of "word of mouth" and the relationship that is implied by listening to anyone sharing their experiences. In the meantime, have a great long weekend. See you Tuesday.

Also, stay tuned for an announcement about the launch of our Word of Mouth Media book club!

#SMTTIPS Return on investment of time

Today, I'm introducing a new term to social media. #ROIT

If we are to be successful in our pursuits to use social media to grow our businesses and our sphere of influence, we must have a way to measure the value of the time invested in social media as a toolset to get there.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN + GROWTH FOCUSED ACTIVITIES ONLINE + METRICS = #ROIT

The old adage, time is money, is as true today as it was when Benjamin Franklin first uttered the words. What would Ben think of the Internet I wonder? Would he be Twittering away about what he was doing or thinking? I believe we would be following Ben AND we would be listening and commenting. And if Ben later wanted to sell us something, particularly about making profitable use of our time, we would likely buy from Ben.

The metrics for #ROIT have to begin with the things easily measured, to be sure. Followers, click thrus on links, re-tweets, comments on your blogs, etc. But the real measure has to happen over time and must be linked back to your original goal. But it really has to start with developing a purposeful plan and then focusing your activities on those things that will help you get to the other side of the bridge - to achieve your vision.



This is a diagram that had its origins from Stanford Advance Project Management program. The Solutionz Media Group has adapted this to provide a visual vision for how companies should approach implementation of Social Media plans.

Becoming adept at social media personally, and in fact becoming an expert, should follow a similar pattern, with no less furvor than a company would apply to the vision. The vision is of course, Return on Investment of Time or #ROIT.

If you are launching a book and want to get a large number of folks to buy the book, but don't want to do a traditional distribution deal with a publisher, don't be fooled by believing that tomorrow you can establish a Twitter account or a fan page on Facebook and the next day begin promoting your book. You can no more jump to the Execution Phase of any plan and succeed than you can try to get a professional job without completing your high school (and perhaps even your college) education. It would be as foolish as a baseball player thinking that he can skip spring training and the regular game schedule and go right to the World Series.

You must follow a plan that closely mirrors a traditional business plan. Here is an idea of how that looks for an author:

• Identify the need (e.g. write your book about something that people are passionate about or are interested in)
• Identify the audience (who will buy the book)
• Identify evangelists (start with 12, that seems like a historically valid number for building disciples of your ideals)
• Establish credibility on the topic (blog about it, interact with others who blog about it, be on radio or TV shows that talk about it, comment in traditional print media about it)
  
• Build out your network to reach first the evangelists and those that trust them, then go for the larger audience
• Engage in real dialogue about the topic with those that are passionate (blog, comment, build relatonship)
  
• Then and only then, start to put together your campaign to launch your book

There are many tools that can help you in each of these steps.

I would highly recommend Simon U Ford's book Social Traffic to help you on the tactical front. Watch the video about the history of social media and then let me know if you want a copy of the book. I'll see that you get access to a few of the chapters free to evaluate it free of charge.
Then, we can take it from there and see what your vision is and how much time you are willing to invest to master social media for your own purposes.

#SMTIPS Tip for Today - Relationships are key

For the latest installment in our Social Media Travel Tips series, I would like to republish a blog posted today by my friend Bob Burg, the co-author of the Go Giver. You can subscribe to Bob's blog at http://www.burg.com/blog/

Offline, Online; It’s Still About The Basics

May 16th, 2009 by Bob Burg

We’ve all heard the expression, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” How true this is, especially in terms of cultivating new business.

As “Social Media” (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) becomes utilized by more and more people, the potential for its mis-use in terms of productive business-building becomes greater and greater.

The first thing I note (and most of my online social/businss networking is done of Facebook and Twitter) is the number of - ugg, I hate this word - pitches from people for their product or service…when first connecting!! No relationship-building; no focusing on the other (and, no, thinking you’re going to help them by their buying from you is not focusing on them) :-), no taking time to identify want, need or desire; no respecting the process, just pitching. {Side note: on Twitter this is often done via auto-responder which I believe, as the saying goes, “adds insult to injury”)

This is the online equivalent to introducing yourself to someone at a Chamber of Commerce or other business mixer and immediately shoving your business card at them and telling them all about what you do. Does that really achieve the desired result? While we can “never say never” we can definitely say the odds are well against it, both for short and long-term success.

Remember, “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.” This doesn’t happen as a result of being pitched but as a result of knowing the other person has their best interests in mind.

So, when connecting with someone online, instead of pitching your product or service or asking yourself how they can help you, ask yourself, “how can I somehow provide value - real value - to the relationship, and effectively communicate my desire to do so?”

If sales and referrals are going to happen, they will…after you’ve proved yourself to be an asset of value; not a taker of energy.

#SMTIPS - Who are the experts in Social Media in Travel?

It is safe to say that the Travel Industry has been one of the most advanced in the use of the Internet for commerce, user generated content and now for the integration of social media tools.

From the launch of the first travel websites that were little more than brochures in the mid-90s, to full fledged booking sites and now robust shopping and planning sites, the Travel Industry scores an "A" in eCommerce, with nearly $140b in annual sales. We know how to drive traffic and how to convert business to a sale, although increasing that conversion rate well into the double digits is still the holy grail. For the purpose of this blog, I will remain silent on how I believe that this channel can become even more effective, as I cover that in detail in my Distribution blog.

A similar grade would be given for user generated content, with sites like TripAdvisor and Travelocity's IGoUgo leading the way in allowing consumers to rank various travel venues. The industry now fully understands that hearing the voice of the consumer is much more powerful than the understandably biased view of the brand.

And if PhoCusWright's Travel Innovator Summit is any measure, there are now more companies chasing the social media aspect of travel than any other niche. Literally millions are being thrown at coming up with ways to link people together in meaningful ways, and especially in ways that can be monetized. The emerging model is one of advertising and sponsorship and monetizing traffic, with a link back to the traditional ecommerce sites for good measure and a well rounded business model.

I know from experience, that when you are well-funded as a company, it is easy to be a product leader if you are blessed to have a foundation of innovation to build upon. But at the end of the day, like any other discipline in our industry, there has to be training to create a level of expertise in the skill of Social Media. It must become a recognized discipline in its own right.

So I am left wondering, who the individual experts are in Social Media in the Travel Industry?

We have an amazing amount of talent in the travel industry and a lot of folks are working on building companies around Social Media tools, such as building and leveraging communities.

We know from the various travel conferences who the bloggers are. But are bloggers experts? We also know who Twitters and who provides frequent updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Plaxo. Can we use numbers of followers or number of links to determine who the experts are?

In my 30 years in the travel industry, I don't think I've ever seen anything spread so fast, yet so ineffectively as social media. I say ineffectively, as the return on investment of time just hasn't caught up to the effort needed to cross the chasm from being a novice to being an expert. And it will take experts to ensure that ROI comes from business growth that is fueled by the viral marketing that is possible with social media.

I have started this new blog to dedicate some real time and attention to picking out those that if not already leaders in Social Media, have the desire to learn and lead the charge on the effective use of social media to fuel growth.

Join in to the conversation. Follow me on Twitter and look for #SMTTIPS. If you don't understand what the hash tag (#) symbol means, then bookmark this site (to use the Web 1.0 vernacular) and tune in to a dialogue that is sure to educate, will likely challenge some and it is my hope that it will raise everyone's boats more than a notch when it comes to using the toolset that is now in our hands.

Chicke Fitzgerald, Founder Solutionz Media Group