Since we have been talking about the new revolution of self-reliance and self-employment and our need to adapt to a fast-changing online and social marketplace, I asked a friend of mine, Simon Mainwaring (a regular FAST COMPANY contributor) to write an exclusive article for us on what he calls The New Measure of Success and how you and I can grow our Social Capital with some specific examples. Enjoy! -Darren Hardy  Social Capital – The New Measure of Success by guest blogger Simon Mainwaring  Social media is disrupting how businesses need to measure success in the marketplace. Of course, profits still matter, but as consumers connect up in communities and networks through social technologies, they are gaining leverage to pressure companies to think about more than just great products and services. What they want from business is a better world, not just better widgets.   How does this impact small companies, entrepreneurs, and contractors? The answer is, it affects you the same way it impacts global corporations that seek to powerfully develop and imprint their brands in the consumer’s mind. When it comes to appealing to today’s socially-minded consumers, your company is no different than Nike, Pepsi, or Starbucks in the need to build social capital, not just financial capital. Social capital refers to the appeal your brand has in your customer’s eyes. It is composed of a mix of respect, shared values, and loyalty. High social capital derives from engaging with your customers in a way that creates a deeper meaning for them, not just selling them products or services. Here are three key insights and tips for how you can accomplish raise your social capital: 1. Make your brand the chief celebrant of your customers’ community, not its celebrity. In your marketing and advertising, stop thinking of your brand as the center of the universe. Instead, reach out to serve the issues your...

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Your LinkedIn profile content drives your actions on LinkedIn; your actions on LinkedIn drive your real-world outcomes. You can be an absolute master in navigating the site, exemplary in your approach to connect with others, and a sparkling conversationalist in the groups, but if you have poor, inaccurate, irrelevant, or underdeveloped content in your LinkedIn profile, it’s a deal-breaker. The highly professional environment of LinkedIn provides you with unique opportunities for name recognition and targeting specific audiences for the selling and marketing of products, services and enterprises. A LinkedIn profile that frames you as the subject matter expert (SME), broadcasts an openness to collaborate, and inspires others to take action relative to your service offering is your absolute...

Everything that we do in business today is predicated on our ability to establish a set of ground rules and operate within them. When we fail to set boundaries, we open ourselves up to confusion, indecisiveness and self-doubt that can paralyze us. What governs your activities on LinkedIn? LinkedIn achievers draft a blueprint for success and carry it out to the letter. By adhering to a personal code of ethics and setting realistic limits in using the site, you will stay on course in reaching your objectives. Success Secret No. 2: Define Your Rules of Engagement on LinkedIn How we circulate, connect and communicate on LinkedIn is a matter of personal preference. These are the core activities on the site and those for which LinkedIn achievers have defined their rules of engagement (ROE). ...

At every speaking engagement, I usually ask the question of my audience, “Why are you on LinkedIn?” After a brief period of silent contemplation, I stroll about the room, meet their innocent stares and, after a bit of gentle prodding, they begin to shout out their answers: “To connect with other people” “To research companies in my target market” “To share information in my industry” “To become known in my field of expertise” These are all valid reasons. Invariably, there is one response I’m looking for that is never offered (or is held back) until I drop a few hints. Ultimately, someone blurts it out: “To make money!” Why are we so reluctant to admit that—on a social networking site devoted to business—we are looking for business? This is what Reid Hoffman and the founding fathers of...

There is a resounding difference between saying, ‘I want to be successful’ and declaring with fist-thumping conviction, ‘I will do whatever it takes to become successful!’ Success in navigating the popular business networking site, LinkedIn, and using it to meet business objectives operates under the same premise. The road to becoming a LinkedIn achiever is paved with ongoing learning, constant observation, practice and application. Since 2006, I have worked with thousands of top executives, entrepreneurs, salespeople, and job seekers to help create branded content for their LinkedIn profiles, designing customized LinkedIn sales and marketing strategies, and translating their efforts on the site into positive results. My greatest joy is taking someone new to LinkedIn under my wing and...

Social Media is here to stay. Here’s how to hop on board. Getting your business going with Facebook, Twitter and the rest may seem like a big chore, but it need not be. And it is important to do it, even if it does seem daunting. Why? Think of social media is as a conversation. [...]

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What’s Your Personal Brand? When we think about branding we primarily think about our product or service but we must also begin to focus on our self-branding.  Just like branding speaks volumes for your product or services, you as a brand speak volumes also.  Take a minute to see what your self-brand say about you.  Does [...]

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Taking Online Marketing To Another Level Recently I asked in one of my previous blogs “What sets you apart from your competitors?” What have you done for them to easily locate you, your company, your product or services?’ I even provided some easy online marketing rules to live by using your website.  Now I want to [...]

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