One of my favorite guests is John Mahoney, aka
@socialmedia305. John taught me the language of Twitter. That’s right, Twitter has a language. You have to be able to get your point across in just 140 characters. That takes lots of abbreviations and inventive phrasing.
John discussed using social media advertising to build your business. He suggested I experiment with Twitter and Facebook ads. I’ve been doing so for the past couple of weeks, and the impact on my social media campaigns has been dramatic. He said that I should start by going to analytics.twitter.com to look at some of my recent tweets. The analytics tell you about your audience. For example, I found out that my audience is skewed toward high-income professionals with high education levels.
We also talked about which social media platforms work best for certain businesses. Every industry has a platform where it is most effective. For instance, the fashion industry focuses on Instagram, while mom-and-pop businesses and large corporations tend to be more Facebook-oriented.
Another guest this month was Alex P. Cordia, vice president of business development at Republic Sources. Alex has oil in his blood – he is the grandson of T. Boone Pickens. He pointed out that the number of operating oil rigs in the U.S. is dropping and the cost to drill for oil is decreasing as well. Although some people are getting out of oil and gas exploration, Alex suggests getting in; when oil prices rebound, exploration and production costs will go up. People that get in when the production cost is lower will have much higher profit margins than those who move later in the cycle. Sounds a lot like real estate!
We also profiled a new trend: executive coaching. Coaches Noelia Moreno and Joe Cruz were on the show together. Everyone – from a senior executive to someone just getting started – needs a mentor, and an executive coach can help fill that role. It’s true that it’s harder for senior executives to find a mentor. Executive coaches can help these executives create their own agenda, and then help them implement said agenda. By reaching out to an executive coach, they can find someone who is not involved in the day-to-day politics to give them benchmarks on what to do with their business. Noelia and Joe recommend that people select a coach that matches up with both their personal and professional agendas.
One of the most difficult issues is the separation of business and personal life. Noelia says that it’s important to find balance. Joe says it’s important for clients to find their own way – the coach is there to help them chart the path. ?
To listen to these and other interviews, go to our website, friedonbusiness.com. We interview thought leaders every Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. on 880 AM. Listen live by visiting bit.ly/jimlive.
