From the first time I read about inbound marketing in HubSpot materials, I’ve been convinced of its intrinsic value. Why wouldn’t it makes sense to “attract” clients through blogs and social media and other content-laden sources?  The old way of doing things — advertising, direct marketing, cold calling, etc. — pales by comparison.

HubSpot’s 2011 State of Inbound Marketing report is based on a survey of 644 professionals. What they point out as being particularly interesting is how the study results have been consistent from year to year, going back to 2009. Which, yes, that’s not a long time. But it’s still substantial, considering how fast trends change these days.

Stop by http://hubspot.com for  timely webinars and other reports worth your while.

I find this five-step process fairly easy to navigate for just about every business category imaginable — except one.

Marketing myself.

Fortunately, one of my clients has agreed to take me on as his creative challenge.  And, so I begin the five steps:

1. ATTRACT  2. ENGAGE  3. EXPOSE  4. CONNECT  5. LEAD

Let’s blog through the first: the process of attracting potential clients by communicating a message that is personable, reflective, honest, succinct, and powerful.

“Plant a seed, grow a forest.” That’s where I will start my message about how I can help.

Understanding social media has led me to”tweak” my words a bit.

BSM (Before Social Media), I focused on helping clients grow trees. While impressive, that message definitely falls shy of what’s possible with the expanded toolkit of social media.

In any case, “seeds” remain an important part of how I describe my services.

Seeds have always mystified me. How did God ever manage to stuff  so much potential into such tiny, teeny pieces of the world? I guess it’s really simple: He’s God. (Or she’s God or they’re God — depending on which PC critic you listen to, which I usually don’t.)

Together, I help clients plant seeds — carefully crafted to describe all the key areas of potential.

We sift out and focus on areas that offer unique market advantage.

Accomplishing this can include “What If?” sessions. It’s important to talk within an environment that welcomes discussing a full range of possibilities (what you might otherwise call “thinking outside of the box,” if that phrase didn’t feel so darn overused).

Including what we now call “keywords” is another useful tactic — one of many that have been introduced by social media.

Who could ever have imagined that we would be able to identify the exact words that potential clients use to search for our services? It adds an exciting dynamic to the process and will frame the words I add to my message.

TO BE CONTINUED

Picture yourself speaking to an auditorium filled with attentive listeners. You have prepared a great speech and they are enjoying every word of it.

Then, you start noticing a few snickers. The girl in the red sweater on your right suddenly elbows her neighbor. He smiles and elbows his neighbor. You notice that very few people are looking at you. In fact, most of the eyes in the room are aimed down, at laptops and other mobile devices. You, fellow Toastmaster, are being backchanneled. So, what do you do?

Mashable blogger Cliff Atkinson recently shared some good advice about how to stop a backchannel from turning into a total disaster. One of the most important things you can do is to know that this will happen. Understanding that a backchannel is not only possible, but very likely, is your first step. I don’t know about you, but I never really ever thought about it.

Cliff offers some good ideas for turning lemons into lemonade. I think you’ll find it helpful.

Launched by Expert Laser Services of Southbridge, MA, the contest was aimed at giving people a way to release their technology angst, according to marketing director Nathan Dube. The “Destroy Your Printer Video Contest” was launched to increase awareness and ended up doubling their web traffic and adding more than 100 new inbound links. One fan even called to sign up as a new customer, which was an unexpected gain.

The video submissions can be found here and show a lot of really crazy ways to destroy printers. Top winners used methods involving a backhoe and dynamite.

Two Hubspot marketing visionaries have written this invitation to all of us to join a revolution in the way people communicate.

It speaks to a new way of marketing that focuses on attracting potential customers, instead of interrupting them (often during their dinner hour) in order to sell products and services.  INBOUND MARKETING introduces a new protocol that is both liberating and fun! Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah help us travel along this new path to Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.

It all starts with a story. Every business has a lot of stories to tell and each story has the potential to serve as a powerful magnet to draw in customers. What I find particularly appealing about this approach is that it puts customers in the driving seat. Instead of feeling manipulated, or even mistreated, they arrive at your doorstep having explored tons of options before making a choice. And they have done it all on their own terms.

INBOUND MARKETING offers a practical guide that’s easy to understand and follow – a classic that you will want to read and then keep handy for easy reference.

Deb Maxwell

When you live in Port Huron, everything that surrounds you is labeled “blue water.” It’s something you get used to — an attitude that stakes out “blue water” as something absurdly unique to this area.

Which is why BLUE WATER BREAK is the only name to call this periodic scan of my local Media Landscape. I hope you enjoy this specialized post to my blog.

Today, I’m zooming in on Deb Maxwell, who’s caught my eye because she’s giving away a “small token of appreciation” to new fans.

Deb is an amazing local artist who now has a Facebook Fan Page. All of a sudden, by the way, I’m seeing lots of Facebook Fan Pages along the Blue Water Blog-o-Side.

Deb owns Red Mudd Studio which is located just a few miles outside of Port Huron.

Her gift offer for new fans is a really nice touch and definitely worth rushing over to her blog to sign up. Even without a gift, however, you are going to find Deb’s blog definitely worth reading. Today’s post, for example, talks about the magnificent mosaic exhibition that’s coming to our local art incubator Studio 1219 later this week. From friends who have seen it in the nearby Birmingham/Bloomfield Art Center, I hear that it is absolutely amazing and a show you won’t want to miss! Deb’s also a great writer, so you’ll enjoy staying tuned to her blog to keep up with what’s happening within our local arts world. Enjoy!

BRINK: A Social Media Guide from the Edge

The very first time I ever heard about web 2.0 and social media was the day I bumbled across the website of PR agency SHIFT Communications. I still remember pouring over everything on their site and then reading it all a second time. This social media stuff made SO much sense.

Since then, I have continued to pay attention to SHIFT and especially enjoy principal Todd Defren’s blog. If you visit there today, you can read the 40-page report BRINK: A Social Media Guide from the Edge.

Believe me when I say that you will find something in the report to more than justify your time. It’s not only a great introduction for those new to social media, but also a helpful review for those who have been engaged for some time now.

Todd and his agency are credited with first developing the Social Media News Release and  Social Media Newsroom – you might want to take a look before designing your own versions. While every market is different, Todd’s paradigm can serve you well.

Wendy MacQueen

Did you ever stop to think about how social media has hurled us into a world filled almost entirely with written words? We don’t even take time to talk on the phone any more… quickly texting instead, message after message after message.

Not a big deal? Maybe not.

Wendy MacQueen, of Mormac Brand Re-Engineering, is an energetic and articulate marketing consultant who shed some interesting light on the subject during a program presented last week for members of the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce.  Among several thought-provoking observations, was information about a Harvard study that had shown how the actual words we say make up only 7% of our total message. Tone of voice contributes 38% and body language adds the remaining 55%. So what happens when we are consistently sending and receiving messages that are… well…  93% hidden?

I’d really like your comments on this one!

Personally, it brings to mind the writings of Canadian communications thought leader Marshall McLuhan, who helped the world understand how the methods we use to communicate can often have a stronger message than the message itself.  If he were still alive, his reaction to today’s digital world would be enlightening.

Where is all this change taking us? On one hand, social media is bringing us closer together with frequent updates. Is it possible, though, that we are also being pulled apart with messages that share only 7% of the total picture?

Wendy’s program was filled with practical tips on building relationships with customers, colleagues, and others by understanding how to communicate and work with different personality types. She shared how to successfully travel the sales  journey by keeping the experience grounded in the customer’s world. I appreciate the Chamber  making this program possible.