I have been going through various aspects of personal growth, thinking philosophically about a lot of different things… what I want from relationships, what I expect and deserve from other people, being made to feel needy or desperate for pretty standard expectations… that sort of thing. This applies as much to the business philosophy as it does to other areas.

Some time ago, I read Greg Behrendt’s book “He’s Just Not That Into You”. I can’t remember where I even borrowed it – but with Greg being a friend of a few of my earlier clients, I checked it out. Being married, a lot of it really didn’t apply in a literal dating sense…. but in some ways over the years, having read the book has actually made some sense to me and often, you can find personal growth in the oddest of places. This was one of them.

Of course it’s since been made into a movie, and I haven’t seen it, so I imagine that you’re all pretty familiar with this as a concept… but just in case: a very quick and brief synopsis…

The main premise is that if you are having to second-guess your relationship, if you are having to chase them down, if you get no replies to calls or emails, if you get promises with no follow through… if you get frequent cancellations… well… He’s Just Not That Into You.

Of course the book is satirical and simplistic, but sometimes, that’s precisely what we need to hear in order to get some perspective. When someone loves you, they show it. And you know it.

How this applies in business

I am pretty sure that I am not the only person to have been strung along by a client or potential client. You know the ones: at the initial enquiry they are enthusiastic but non-committal. Still shopping around, still looking for that better deal… they say they want you and your services. They tell you you’re beautiful. All the right things. And usually they have a cool, fun project that makes you think you need them.

But somewhere along the line, after that first date, or sometimes the fourth, they start to string you along. They try to barter or bargain. They try to get you to do spec work. They take a week to reply to emails. They never say anything to make you think they aren’t interested, but you just get the feeling they aren’t. Sometimes, you will get through a whole project with this client, but they will disappear… or only get in touch when they need something… and often want it for free, because, you’re lucky to have them as a client, right?

And you start trying harder. You start working hard to try and impress them. You leave messages that go unanswered, emails that hint oh-so-nicely that their bill is 3 weeks overdue… and… let’s face it… drop other commitments with your comfortable, trustworthy “friend” clients, just to keep them happy.

Well, after a few years in business I have started to realise that I am worth more than that. Much like a woman with a ticking biological clock, I don’t have the time to be messing around with people who aren’t 100% onboard with what I am trying to do.

If I have to do the chasing, pretty soon I will move on because I am better than that.

And so is everyone else.

Is it worth your self respect to be chasing people who will never return the effort? No. Is it worth the money to put in triple the time pursuing a client that is never happy? No. Is it worth your valuable time and self esteem doing spec work? Endless revisions? Freebies? No.

Because like dating, there is a right fit… and those that love you will continue to love you. And it won’t be HARD.

So, in summary:

• If you have to pursue them after the first enquiry
• If you have to prove your worth more for them than usual
• If they don’t use you exclusively on their project
• If they call at midnight for a “quickie”
• If they are abusive or inappropriate
• If they don’t pay their invoices
• If they won’t pay a deposit
• If they don’t respect your timelines or work hours
• If they only contact you in a crisis (and noone else can fix it)
• If they ask everyone else’s opinion before they ask yours

Then they are Just Not That Into You. Period.

Move on. Find a better fit. Find someone who DOES put the effort in, who DOES respect you enough to return your calls or emails, who DOES tell their friends about you. You, your self-worth and your business are worth more than that.

In early 2007, I was talking up Twitter, Facebook and Flickr before I had even really embraced them myself. I had a Twitter account myself, of course, but it was pretty inactive, and I distinctly remember telling @lisaloeb4real about this new “group SMS” type feature. I thought that, knowing Lisa, she would love the ability to just SMS from the airport, or backstage, or whilst eating the world’s greatest donut. So there she was, tweeting away, and in fact, I think she was one of the very early “celebrity” adopters of these new social media tools.

I attended a Conference in late 2008, and after seeing it’s true potential, I was hooked. I finally understood (sort of) what a hashtag is. What it meant to “RT”. And it appears, that, to date, at least 80 million people, including a bunch of fairly inane celebrities, enjoy it too.

But, after attending the Media140 Conference yesterday, I have a feeling that there has been a whole industry of people who, despite selling “social media consulting” somewhere in their services, are still in the idea of talking up social media and it’s potential without fully embracing it – or even using it appropriately.

I had the opportunity to meet quite a few people who work in various aspects of Health care. Some get it and some don’t. It was actually very interesting what came out of these discussions, because the common theme at the Conference was the idea of how “the BRAND” is affected, how companies can “CONTROL” negative information on the internet, and I daren’t count how many times the words “engage”, “citizen journalist”, “social media policy” and other buzzwords cropped up from the speakers. There was so much talk about top-down internet communities that it actually made me wonder if people really understood the power of social media at all.

The precise point is that you cannot control negative messaging. But what social media does is provide you with the tools to try and intervene at the word-of-mouth level and make it better. This, without buzzwords, is what is so great about Twitter.

But a big part of Twitter is not so much the bottom line stuff… because that can have mixed results… and by continually focusing on mere dollars and cents, you miss the entire point.

Twitter is more than just dollars per tweet.

Twitter in particular has intangible benefits in so many other ways that make “branding” and “bottom line” seem, honestly, so trivial that hearing those words from “experts” made me feel a little nauseous.

We heard from the HR Rep telling us about how they are policing and monitoring the social media activities (and by implication, disciplining) their staff online. NOT about how they create communities, or improve morale, or that they add a third dimension to the inevitable death of the faceless corporation that hide behind PR & Lawyers. Instead, it was about risks, and controls, and potential client losses.

People are afraid of Twitter when they needn’t be. And in all honesty? I think way too much emphasis is placed this arbitrary line between employee/business owner and human being. And instead of corporations speaking in really great buzzwords, like “humanising your corporation” – how about the idea of the generic “consumer” finally having a face. And a VOICE.

The conduit for community

I had a chat to a couple of people who, after hearing all of the speakers, still weren’t entirely sure on how Twitter, or Facebook, or social networking in general, applied to their organisation. For those who are in service delivery organisations like Mental Health and Community Services, the temptation is to make Twitter a means of broadcasting out to the “80 million people on Twitter”.

I’ll tell you now, that there are not 80 million people on Twitter. There is a potential audience of 80 million, sure. But people tout this figure off like it is some big huge deal when you know what? It means NOTHING to most businesses. Especially seeing as there is so much bad advice about using Twitter in the first place – the chances of people reading your message by accident, is, frankly, overstated.

I read an article in 2008, in reference to the music industry, about how all you need to make a decent living, is 1000 True Fans (and arguably, no crippling record label contract ), but this applies, figuratively, in so many ways to other businesses as well.

The strength of Twitter is in the building of micro communities. The Perth Twitter community is a good example of people who have found each other, through various means, over time, and a community has been built that is not just an audience, but a support network.

For me, during the day, Twitter is my chatterbox with other people who work in Home Offices. For others, it is a stress release from their day jobs. For others, it is just having a laugh, sharing a joke. I am also part of a few other networks, but to simplify, I know that at any time of day, someone in my community will be around to talk to.

This is the power of “Twitter for business”. We don’t talk about business much and when it does come up, it is understated and fairly innocuous (much like a social occasion where people ask what you do and leave it at that… you don’t launch into an Amway sales pitch on first meeting….do you…?)

When people can find a community, they can also find a support network, a counsellor, a group of people who understand. This has massive implications for service delivery, or health organisations that are on the ball, to start having discussions with your clients. Build a community of people who have a shared experience and let that community organically grow.

How about a discussion for parents of children with cancer or other chronic illness? How about a support group for those who battle Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia? How about asking your clients what they want from you? Despite buzzwords like “engagement”, it is more than just talking one on one with your clients, customers, etc. It’s about allowing a community to build organically alongside your traditional means. In the health industry, these support networks can quite literally be a lifesaver, for people who may feel isolated.

Twitter is as much about shared experience as it is about access to information.

Stop talking and start LISTENING

Noone wants to be talked at. If you’re anything like me, you have emails, tweets, Facebook messages, radio ads, billboards, TV, internet banner ads and limitless numbers of people trying to sell you limitless amounts of stuff you don’t want or need. I for one am saturated. I am immune to corporate messaging. Most people are. But if you stop, and listen to what your clients actually want, you’ll be surprised that all they are trying to tell you is that they want to connect, in a meaningful way, not with a 2 dimensional CORPORATION, but with 3 dimensional people. People who understand. People who are flawed. People who might accidentally drunktweet and make bad mistakes sometimes. People who make them laugh one time and can have a deep & meaningful conversation another. All social media is… is people trying to connect.

If you can filter out the wanky PR buzzwords, and the talking up of social media from the “experts”, and the “OMG JOURNALISM IS DEAD AND I MUST FIND ANOTHER WAY TO SHOVE MY PRESS RELEASES DOWN PEOPLES THROATS”, and start actively listening, reflecting on what you are hearing, and embracing the incredible humanity and compassion that you see on Twitter every day, you have a small chance of being ahead of the curve. The “Corporation”, as we know it, is dying a slow, painful death. They’re fighting it by trying to control social media, control their employees (or the employees of other companies they work with), but, it’s a futile battle.

And try to write in Haiku. They’re fun.

Big, big things for us in 2010 – in particular, going from 1 designer/developer/everything to a fully fledged business with staff.

We have a Yellow Pages ad, a Google campaign and a whole heap of exciting new clients already booked for the first half of this year. I plan on writing more content that is of benefit to our clients and engaging a bit more with this woefully neglected blog (the cobbler’s children etc etc).

I, personally, am very excited about the future for linkartist, and I hope that all of our current and future clients have a WONDERFUL 2010.

Onwards and upwards!

The important point that I tried to make is that whilst there is no one right way to use social media, there is one wrong way. Don’t try and sell stuff straight away:

Web designer Tea Brennan, or “tealou”, said the best results came for people who used twitter informally.

“The common theme is to make friends first, have fun second, sell third,” she said. “It really is about long-term strategies and networking and not one-way advertising, this is a common mistake people make and it’s the fastest way to fail.”

She likens twitter to being at a party or other social occasion.

“You don’t just outright sell at a party, and you shouldn’t do that on twitter either,” she said. “Be helpful to people when they need it, but don’t get in their face either.

“I also tweet about what I am working on and have even written about my frustrations/emotions as a sole trader … I make it so that people think of me as an option when they hear someone needs a designer. It works for my circumstances.”

Tea’s profile proclaims her to be: “The third-worst mother on the internet. Web designer. 30th most influential Tweep in Perth. Apparently. Funny sometimes too.” And she posts comments which range from colourful social commentary to her children’s socks.

“I advise my clients to be as ‘warts and all’ as they are comfortable with,” she said.

“For me, nothing is off-limits, but you need to find your own limits … the approach that I would use for a political party might be different to say, my business, or an accounting firm.”

LinkArtist Multimedia, like other companies (including Apple & Google) are going to be proactive in killing it off. As of June 30, we are no longer going to support Internet Explorer 6 in any of our websites as standard. If your site requires Internet Explorer 6 testing & development, it will now add to the cost of your project.

As a client of LinkArtist, you now have 3 options:

1. Ignore IE6 (and hopefully it will go away!)
2. Install a script on your website that encourages people to upgrade their browser (or has a disclaimer that, because the site is being viewed on IE6, user experience may be different to how it was intended.)
3. Pay for additional development time for Internet Explorer development & testing.

Naturally, IE7 & 8 will still continue to be supported, as will Firefox, Safari & Chrome.

This has been a long time coming, folks… Remember Netscape, anyone? It’s time to hold a funeral.

Kirsty, I wish you the best of luck with your novel – and I urge everyone to pick up a copy and support our local talent.

Check out the site (and subscribe to Kirsty’s blog) at http://www.kirstyeagar.com

So of course, when my favourite ever client, all round awesome person, and above all else, shit-hot-awesome photographer, Justine Ungaro, asked me to collaborate with Ellen on her site, well, the answer was a resounding “hell to the yes”.

This is the result. Its the little things about this design that make it, well, kinda awesome. And yes, entirely powered by WordPress.

Anyway, in collaboration with YourSite (a great CMS), I designed & HTML/CSSed this site for Jarrah Grove Retreat – a lovely new luxury chalet retreat in Margaret River. Be sure to check them out and tell them I sent you… we hope to get down when the baby is older

It is worth noting that I quite literally worked on this whilst in hospital. If anyone has ever doubted my commitment to my work, that’s proof, I guess

The immediate, knee-jerk reaction for companies that don’t understand how the internet has changed, is to cut back on their web marketing expenditure… but things are very different from how they were in the dot-com bust in the late 90’s.

Yeah yeah, I know, I can hear the cries of skepticism coming now. Of course a web design company wants you to update your website. Of course we want to get you to think about your online strategy, because then we make money! Well, let’s put that little conflict of interest aside for just one moment, and let me give you a few reasons why now is the best time to start thinking about your online presence.

1. You need to work harder to attract customers.

In boom time, you don’t really need anything other than to simply be available and have the right price. Heck, you don’t even need to be very good! A little bit of cheap marketing is all you ever needed – you can get away with a standard template or a cheaply designed site – and, because of the nature of the economy, business is still good.

In luxury areas such as portrait photography or novelty/entertainment products in particular, in boom time, it is good enough to just grab a template that looks the same as everyone elses, have the date free, and still get the work.

You simply don’t need to try because the work comes to you.

In a downturn, it’s not as easy as it was. People are less likely to invest in the business that doesn’t market well. They aren’t simply going to go with the “guy that’s available”, because there will be 10, 20, 30 guys available that can do the job. There is simply less work to go around and the reality is that you now have to compete and find a point of difference in which to promote your business. This can mean investing in SEO services, it can mean a redesign of your site to attract customers, it can be to hire a User Interaction expert to assess why you aren’t getting the sales you need from your website. You will need to work harder to get the same amount of customers. Which means, you need to invest more in your marketing.

2. You need to do this in the most cost effective way possible.

How much does it cost for a display ad in the Yellow Pages? How much does it cost for radio advertising? How much does it cost to advertise in the paper? Do you see these as necessary investments in your business? How much do you spend on your camera & computers? How much do you spend on conferences & networking events? How much do you spend on pens & coffee mugs with your logo on it?

My bet? Lots.

So why is your web presence, a 24/7, international shopfront & advertisement for your business, such a low priority? Why is a custom, high quality website such a low priority? Why is it not a fixed expense, like all the other essentials to running a business? A great website will still cost you a fraction of all of the other marketing expenses and the payoffs can be substantial. If you take your store online, you can automate certain aspects and increase your sales.

There are many markets in which you can’t find a decent website for a single business. Particularly in trades and retail, it really wouldn’t take much to have the best website in your industry, or be #1 on Google for it. These are low-cost, high result investments.

So while other businesses are nickel-and-diming and focusing on this week’s Community News ad (that noone reads anymore), you could be getting serious about the web and being #1 in your industry on Google.

3. You need to make it easier for people to find you and buy from you.

When the sales are coming in, there is no time to think about the number of people that might leave your site without making a purchase, or those that have been looking on search engines and haven’t found you. But, when the sales stop or slow down, you need to consider getting the services of professionals that can assess your site and make it better.

That means reviewing your content (perhaps with a professional Copywriter), reviewing your Search Engine Rankings (with an SEO Expert, reviewing your design (with a professional web designer)… all of these services have measurable results – in fact most of these things can make a dramatic difference to your online presence.

4. You need to be more tech-savvy (or perceived to be) than your competitors.

So many people, including business owners, are intimidated by computers and the web. If you can find a partner that will help you figure it all out and get it right – even if you don’t quite understand yourself – you are on your way to being a leader in your industry at best, and at worst, a head above your competitors.

5. Websites are no longer a luxury or an afterthought.

The businesses that embrace the internet and prioritise their internet marketing will, without a doubt, be more equipped to survive a recession than a business that doesn’t. This does not simply mean putting up a web page that was designed by your well-intentioned but unskilled nephew – but getting serious about attracting customers and working with a team of people who know how to work on the internet.

Spending 3, or 5, or 10 thousand dollars is no small ask – I get that. But in business, there are certain fixed costs that need to be paid, regardless of how you feel about them. To spend $10-15k on a Yellow Pages print ad, for limited space for a limited time, is becoming less and less beneficial in the majority of industries. Why not cut the ad to half a page, build a better website and refer to the site on your ad? This is how it will work – where the print advertising refers to the online presence, and not the other way around.

Far too many businesses view their websites as an afterthought – and I personally go out of my way to hire those companies that appear to value their web presence, because I like to have as much information as I can without having to call during business hours. More and more people are like me, and in a recession, prioritising your web presence can make a difference.

So, with all that said, if you’d like a quote on a new website, contact us and we’ll customise a quote for your particular circumstances.