Written by Cenk
Your blog is a personal. It is an extension of who you are and a mirror to what you think. After couple of years serving on the cyberspace, my blog is going through an overhaul to represent me in 2013! You can still see my past posts below.
If you want to know more about me, say hi
Thank you
Written by Cenk
Not everything in life goes according to plan. As long as we can learn from our mistakes and try our best not to repeat them, it is a learning experience. Here is a failed blog story that turned out to be a great learning experience.
Background
Once I was given the task to raise the profile of a restaurant. After my research, I recommended launching a chef’s blog. This was way before Masterchef , there weren’t many food blogs around and practically no chef blogs.
Chefs are busy people. One chef, many hats. This chef was probably working around 60-70 hours a week. Cooking for functions, as well as cooking daily for the restaurant. He didn’t have a good support team around him so sometimes he had to work even longer.
When I explained him the concept of the blog, he got really excited. He saw a world of possibilities and the sky was the limit. I was a bit more reserved. I even started to think it would be unfair to give him more responsibilities; he was already way too stretched.
Yet the decision was to go ahead with the blog. I trained him, get the blog set up, gave suggestions for blog posts, and showed him examples of great blogs .I told him I can even write some blog posts for him- especially when he was too busy to write. We bought a camera to keep in the kitchen so he could take some photos of his masterpieces. I recommended some incentives to management team. My reasoning was that if he was given incentives to add blog posts or if blog posts were added to his KPI’s, there would be more reasons for him to blog.
Worst case scenario- what could go wrong with a blog launch?
Call it a marketer’s sixth sense, I set up some requirements before pushing the blog live. He would have to post 3 times a week for 3 months. That would make 36 posts. The blog would go live in 3 months when he hit 36 posts or earlier if he was quicker.
He was confident he would get there in less than 3 months.
He wasn’t comfortable with using computers and didn’t have a habit of writing regularly. These are important skills for bloggers. I thought 3 months was enough to develop skills and habits. He would also find his writing voice and most importantly decide if blogging was for him.
No reader likes a blog that has only one post when they visit a blog for the first time! We would have sufficient number of posts when we launch and so a first time visitor would have a good idea on what the blog is about and would have reasons to come back.
What went wrong with the blog?
He got even busier. He got nowhere near the number of posts. He chose not to get more support or get me to write posts for him. He was already way too stressed working overtime and the blog just didn’t help. We decided to unplug the project. Yet because the blog was never made public, it wasn’t a big fiasco.
What are the lessons learnt from a failed blog?
Setting up requirements before making the blog live was a great decision and saved everyone from embarrassment. These type of requirements work well with a pre-determined number of blog posts. By the time, the number of posts are written,, the blogger would have the skills and created the writing habit. The blogger would find her voice and got comfortable with the blogging space.
KPI’s: Professionals are very much goal driven and KPI’s are part of working life. If the blogging is a “ nice to have” project and KPI’s and metrics are not build around it, it becomes one of the first things to be dropped.
Content Strategy: It wasn’t explicitly mentioned but I believe the chef was not comfortable with what to write and when to write despite thel training. Having a content strategy with an editorial calendar would be of great use in these conditions.
We’re going to dive into content strategy in a future post, meanwhile would love to hear some of your “ lessons learnt” examples!
Written by Cenk
“ You are your brand” You might heard this ever since personal branding concept became mainstream by an article “ The Brand Called You” published at Fast Company in 1997.
1997;no Google, no Googling someone, no Google vanity search. Popular social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin didn’t exist. You wouldn’t be able to build your personal branding empire one update or tweet at a time.
Here are 3 great tools for personal branding, they are all integrated well into social media enhancing their value.
Why not have a personal paper to compliment your personal empire! Here is how paper.li explains itself: “ paper.li organizes links shared on Twitter into an easy to read newspaper-style format. Newspapers can be created for any Twitter user, list or #tag.”
I’ve been following Ken Burgin’s daily paper for a while and recently found out international thought leaders and great personal brand ambassadors such as Problogger Darren and Brian Solis are using paper.li, too.
I asked to both Ken and Darren about their experiences using paper.li.
Ken: “Using paper.li was an experiment to see what types of links would come together with some ‘auto-curation’. The one with my personal name has worked well, and generally puts together interesting content creation each morning, although sometimes a little repetitive.”
Darren “ I guess they compile an interesting list of links from your community which could be useful to identifying hot topics but also building relationships with some of your readers – however because it’s all fairly automated and you don’t actually have to do anything to create it seems slightly impersonal.
This website is a great way to combine your social network profiles http://flavors.me/cenkbaban in one location and make it look visually attractive. There is a free version which allows you to add services (social networks) and decide on your design, to create your own URL. Flavors work really well if you are into design and you can get really creative with it. A good way to use would be to display your portfolio samples and send your URL to your client for their reference.
The paid version is $20 for a year and includes listing in a directory, statistics, custom domain name and contact form. Not a bad investment for $20 yet, when about. me is launched to public which includes statistics and is free, the competition for flavors.me will intensify.
The new kid on the block, currently it’s not open to the public. The power of it lies in its analytics feature. This feature allows you to understand how many people visit your profile and more importantly what they do with the information they see. This website is all about personal branding integrating the image of the user and their copy as well as their social networks.
What I really like about this website is the creativity of the first set of users.The copy they have is engaging and the images they use really compliment the copy. The user pages remind me of the great coffee table books. I already chose my image and looking forward to get my profile up and running.
Have you tried any of these tools? What are your views? Do you believe personal branding is here to stay and should be complemented with these kinds of tools?
Written by Cenk
Life without Google is hard to imagine. The search engine giant is not resting on its laurels and is always improving its search functionalities. If you aren’t up to date with them, here is a brief introduction on Voice Search, Image Search and Instant Pages and their implications for your business.
Voice Search
Voice Search was a popular feature on Mobile and now it is available on desktop computers. Basically instead of typing your query, you will speak to the mic of your computer and your results will be displayed on your computer.
Image Search
Similar to Voice Search, Image Search has been limited to mobiles and now is available on desktop computers. To search using an image, go to images.google.com and just put your picture in the search box. You can either click the camera icon in the search box and upload a photo from your computer or paste the URL of an image from the web.
I tried it, chose an image that is relatively obscure and was impressed with the result. Actually I was even more impressed with the fact that I learnt the history of the statue I chose which is from my hometown Istanbul.
Google Instant Pages
If Google is confident about the search results of your query, it starts to load the webpage and when you click on the result in the Instant Pages , the result page is delivered much faster. This video has a comparison of the traditional vs Instant pages and is convincing.
What does the new Google features mean for you or your business?
It is too early to determine the business influences of the new features as they have just been rolled out. The initial view is that these features are there to help you get your results faster (Instant Pages) or by using different formats (voice and image). Again the view on this is not a change in your business’s Google ranking but just an enhanced user experience.
It can be a challenge to stay informed with Google’s changes but a recent Google blog “Inside Search” aims to bring a wealth of information on search including search shortcuts. Definitely worth bookmarking. Have you used any of these new features? What’s your view on them?
Written by Cenk
Google is our gate to Internet. Since 1998, they made the Internet an easier place to find information. What they do, how they do it and their plans for future are always of interest for both businesses and consumers.
Two recent blog posts discuss the state of Google now and what the future holds for Google. Not surprisingly the posts are both criticising and praising Google. Here are the summary of those posts and my personal view about them.
Business insider made an interview with Steven Levy who just wrote a book about Google. The highlights of the interview are in the blog post and the interview is available as an audio file.
Google X
Sounds secretive doesn’t it? The post explains that it is a bunch of Google engineers working on some secret projects. I find this fascinating. Getting smart people to collaborate and build up on good ideas can be very powerful. I am a big fan of Google’s 20% time and I believe there is more innovation to come from Google. The challenge is to be able to turn these innovations into successful products. Google doesn’t have a great track record in launching new products. Remember Google Wave and Google Buzz. Yet they can come up with a breakthrough product, just like they did with Gmail and Google Adwords. They could be easily working on the next big thing with this talented team of engineers as they have all the resources in the world to make it happen.
Google 2015: what will it look like?
Robert Scoble is a very influential tech blogger and his blog is one of the most respected in Silicon Valley. His recent post highlighted the trends for the next four years and provided a snapshot of Google in relation to these trends. The post is more of a critique as the implication Google is losing its innovative edge is the conclusion.
Google and Social Media
Google still hasn’t cracked the code in Social Media. There have been couple of attempts, not much traction. There doesn’t seem to be a grand Social Media strategy for world domination to match the ambition of Facebook. The article makes references how Google is missing the boat on Social Media. Although I have faith in Google’s coming up with an innovative product or technology, I don’t think this will be in Social Media.
The dynamics of Social Media is unique and is based on human behaviour, not algorithms. Google tends to be good at interpreting data for technical innovation. Yet I believe the future growth of Social Media will come from interpreting the human behaviour and finding ways to enhance and improve this behaviour. An example is Sonar App which introduces efficiencies in the way we behave and leverages Social Media for real world connections. I am not sure if Google has capabilities to innovate in the human behaviour arena, as their forte seems to be data and algorithms.
What do you think about Google? Do you see the future good or bad for Google ?Add your comment below.
Written by Cenk
I love reading. I just love digging deeper into a topic and coming up with new insights, added wisdom. I recently attended to Kochie’s Business Builders Bootcamp which brought together the entrepreneurs, business leaders and SME owners. The speakers were among the most successful business operators and entrepreneurs in Australia. They made many book recommendations. If you are thinking of reading business books, make sure you check their suggestions below:
I would like to add Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini to this list. I am currently reading it and constantly surprised by the examples in the book- which is a good sign of a good book for me!
Have you read any of these books? Have you got any additions? Share in the comments section.
PS- The links go to Amazon.com. I have no affiliation (I don’t make money) with Amazon. I chose as Amazon also provides great information about the book as well. You can buy from your favourite bookshop.
Written by Cenk
17 hours of heavy duty brain work. The Bootcamp was intense. Yet I left Darling Harbour with a buzz. I picked up the entrepreneurship bug and my attitude towards business changed for the better. Listening to one successful speaker after another, I saw they’re not different than you or me. I started to see patterns. Here are some of those patterns and other highlights of the Bootcamp.
Attitude: Just do it
Most of the speakers had overcame adversities, they had low points in the business, big ugly debts, the GFC, not knowing much about business, finance, systems, everyone saying “ don’t do it”…
Yet they all survived and actually thrived when facing these adversities. The pattern I see was their attitude. An unwavering self-belief, courage, determination and the ability to back their goal and intentions with their actions. They just went out and gave it a go. When they fell, they stood up again. Made mistakes, yet they didn’t change their attitude and still had another go. The famous tagline of Nike “Just do it” came up couple of times in the Bootcamp. No wonder why!
5 people you need for success
Another common pattern was the need for external support. Be it the need for a Board of Directors or a business coach, the need for external support was frequently emphasised by the speakers. The presentation of Natalie Archer, the director of Bendelta, clearly explained this concept. She suggested 5 personalities you need to have in your network to help you succeed in business:
Collaborative Consumption
Finally a business trend that will make you feel good to consume or actually change the way you consume. In this mode of consumption, you don’t own. You share, swap, barter, exchange, trade or rent. In Australia, collaborative consumption based business examples is increasing. GoGet car share is a great example where you enjoy all the benefits of a car without owning one.
Rachel Botsman is the co-author of the book “What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption” and she was one of the speakers. She explained the concept in detail and shared many examples. She had a similar presentation on collaborative consumption on TED. Watch it as collaborative consumption is very likely to change your business and the way you consume.
Written by Cenk
LinkedIn is world’s most popular social networking tool for professionals. It recently passed 100 million users and it has close to 1 million users in Australia. More and more people are trying to find the formula for success in LinkedIn. Roland Hanekroot has been a success story in using LinkedIn. In our interview, he shares with us his LinkedIn experience.
Can you share with us your LinkedIn history?
I’ve been in LinkedIn for a few years now. Initially it was mainly used by recruiters and I wasn’t getting anywhere. 2 years ago I realised its potential as an important business tool. It was around the same time LinkedIn became more user friendly and opened its Australia office. Inspired by Seth Godin and the emphasis on the community, I decided to create a LinkedIn group around small business.
Tell us a bit about your group and why it exists?
It is called Small Business Masterminds. The purpose of the group is to create a community of people in small business who brainstorm and support each other around the issues of business management.
The group members are in LinkedIn yet I also run regular meetings in person with the LinkedIn group members and my past and current clients. I was inspired by my meditation teacher who organised meetings after a meditation retreat. I liked the idea and I thought it would be a great way to stay in touch with my clients or other small businesses.
How much time do you spend on LinkedIn?
I spend around 3-4 hours a week. The time is usually spent on starting a discussion in the group and contributing to the discussion afterwards. I introduce a new topic every month. The topics are the same as my book ‘The Ten Truths for Raising a Healthy Bouncy Business’ so it’s easy to find the topics. Managing the discussions is easy, too as the topics are my area of expertise.
Moderation in online groups and forums can be challenging. How do you handle it?
I set up some guidelines. Nobody reads it of course! Only on couple of occasions there was a need for moderation. LinkedIn makes it really easy to manage discussions. If I find people promoting their services, I move the comment from discussion to promotions. I can delete offensive material easily but most of the time it is just separating the promotions from discussions.
I prefer a more flexible approach to moderation. If someone is a regular contributor and adds value in discussions, then it’s OK to mention a promotion every now and then.
What are the positives of the LinkedIn group for you?
It gives me a lot of visibility. Especially as the discussions are now open and in public domain, they are indexed by Google, this is great for SEO results.
I haven’t had many direct enquiries from LinkedIn groups yet I get many enquiries due to my search results in Google. LinkedIn Group does help with getting better search results leading to more enquiries.
It is great to be a part of community, it feels good. I made great connections with people around the country who do similar work.
It gives me more authority and credibility. People see that I have many connections, a long history in LinkedIn and lots of people say nice things about me. If you are looking for a business coach, you would like to see they have experience, they know what they’re talking about, and they have history, they didn’t just start yesterday.
What don’t you like about your group?
It may take too much time. It is not just starting a topic but keeping it going and interacting with the members take time.
It is an open group and so people around the world can join and take part in discussions. Yet sometimes I wish it could attract more Sydney businesses. As my business in Sydney, I would like to meet more local business who may use my services in the future.
What’s the difference in group dynamics in online vs. offline?
It is very different online. In face to face group, I am the authority and I facilitate the workshop as the workshop leader. Online there are many other discussions that start without my initiations. I am not involved in some of them. In face to face meetings, there is only one discussion and it is facilitated by me.
What have you learnt in managing your group?
How important it is to have a focus, a purpose. This is a community of people who are interested in small businesses and I happen to run it. They may at some stage be interested to use my services as I am one of the experts in the field. Yet the purpose of the group is not me. It is much bigger than that and so it works.
I learnt that spreading yourself too thin is not effective. I have more than 50 group memberships but I am only active in 3 of them.
A great insight by Roland and a good summary of 2 years of LinkedIn groups experience. When he’s not in LinkedIn, he writes. His first book “The Ten Truths for Raising a Healthy Bouncy Business” is published by Amazon. Visit his website for details. After reading his story, have you got a clearer picture for reaching your goals in LinkedIn?
Written by Cenk
Busy busy busy. Standard reply when you ask someone how they’re. We’re cramming more into our lives. More work, more fun, more appointments, more commitments. It is getting harder to get someone’s attention.
Frustrating isn’t it? Yet I have a formula to counteract this modern day phenomenon. Single message with any communication. Yes. Simple isn’t it! Here are some other guidelines I follow:
Have you got any suggestions to add to the formula?
Written by Cenk
One of the most common mistakes in marketing is to put too much time, money and effort in one tactic. This mostly results in ignoring other tactics that would support and make marketing initiative a success. As more of the marketing budgets are shifted to online, usually traditional marketing tactics became victims of this oversight.
I am a big believer of creating synergies between online and traditional marketing .Here are 3 personal examples where offline marketing doesn’t feel like a victim!
Business Development
One of my responsibilities in an earlier role was business development. The term applied to only cold calling. It was painful. Cold calling is one of the most ineffective methods of business development in my opinion. I suggested building relationship with Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD). They were organising seminars for SME’s, our target market. I organised us to be one of the presenters. DSRD was managing the marketing and bringing in the attendees and we concentrated on delivering a strong presentation. The presentation was well received and introduced us to a great many number of prospects. After the introduction, we switched the conversation to online marketing. We followed up with white papers, and e-newsletters to manage the relation. Combination of the offline marketing of presenting at a seminar and adding value to the relationship with online follow up resulted in new clients. I didn’t have to do cold calling again!
Networking
I am so surprised by a common behaviour in networking events. Introduction and some conversation usually results in exchange of business cards. Yet majority of the people never do anything with the business cards they collect. For me, that is a great start to a business relation only if it’s extended to online. Couple of suggestions to make the most of the networking event:
A quick email following up after the event. This email would almost always include something relevant to the conversation. Eg if there was a mention of a website, sending the link of the website.
Adding the person to social networks. Yes I am talking about LinkedIn and Twitter, no not Facebook. This way, I would get to know the person better. In busy lives, it is hard to catch up with people frequently but Twitter is a great tool to carry a conversation online and LinkedIn is the default choice in business.
I believe only with this combination of traditional and online, you can make the most of attending to networking events.
Creating unique experiences
OK I may be biased with this, but this involves a pet project of mine so it’s hard to be neutral. Creating and managing events used to be challenging. But event application of Facebook made it much easier to organise your housewarming or find out more about that birthday party. Yet among the noise in Facebook including friends, game and page invitations, and the events may get lost.
MeetUp is a specialist website for meetings and groups. You can easily organise a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. MeetUp is usually a great first stop to find a group you are interested or start one and find like-minded people. It’s US based but gaining popularity around the world and Australia.
I recently had an idea that combined a few interests of mine: Meeting people, enjoying a great meal and technology. I set up Social Dinner Club to create unique dining experiences featuring a new cuisine, a new restaurant and a food blogger.
In this instance the online platform MeetUp helps to organise the offline meeting, resulting in a unique dining experience. I know couple of groups and businesses who are working to tap into MeetUp as this website is a great tool to bring people together, yes offline!
There is always an opportunity to maximise your results in your initiatives. Looking for synergies in online and traditional marketing is a great way to leverage your initiatives so please keep this in mind when you’re working on your next big initiative. I would love to hear your thoughts or maybe we can talk about them in one of the Social Dinner Club events!
