From the Real Simple Success newsletter.

photo credit: daniel9d

In this week’s issue: It’s the technology plus YOU that makes the technology magic. Don’t forget this, if you want to the technology to work for you.

My father came home with his first personal computer in 1983. Time had just named the personal computer its “Man of the Year” a year before. They were brand new as mainstream appliances.

It was magic. It lit up, and the tiny green characters danced across the screen, changing at a whim. No more white out, no more backspacing to underline a word.

My father was a writer, and for years, he planned to write a novel, but never quite got around to it. (In the last years of his life,he did get around to it–and wrote many good novels.)

After a few months with the MBC-1000, my father said, “you know, I guess I have to admit:

“I somehow thought the computer would help me be a better writer. But of course, it won’t make me be a better writer. To be a good writer, you just have to write. The machine’s not going to do it for you!”

It’s the same now, as it was in 1983. The magic of the technology dazzles us, and somehow convinces us that we’ll magically be freed from doing any work!

I think it is easy to–often unconsciously–apply this same thinking to today’s web technologies. While many of these attitudes are below the surface, I think it’s easy to get into mindsets that subtly reflect this same viewpoint. Attitudes like:

The fantasy: “Once I have an amazing, beautiful new website, lots and lots of new clients will find me and give me new business.”
The reality: The website is a tool to facilitate new business; it won’t bring it to you on its own.

The fantasy: “Our new FaceBook page will create lots of new clients.”
The reality: You can create lots of new clients, using FaceBook as a tool, by focusing on producing value for them, over time.

The fantasy: “Once we optimize our page to the right keywords, we’ll start getting a flood of traffic to our site.”

The reality: Depending on your keywords, this could be true, or much more work could be required. Focusing too heavily on keywords can get you distracted from your main mission; unless you have lots of money to spend, you’re better of starting by focusing on

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I don’t mean to sound cynical here. The point I am making is that the combination of these technologies, plus someone who really has
something to say, and really wants to help their customers–now that is very powerful. To ignore any of these ingredients, right now, is very foolish.

In each case, the point is that the collaboration between these wonderful new technologies, and a person who cares about his clients, and is devoted to helping them succeed–that is the powerful combination.

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My father kept that MBC-1000 for, like, 10 years. “It’s a dinosaur,” I would think, but “it gets the job done”–that’s what he thought. And over the years, I am sure that simple computer saved him many hundreds of hours of effort, over using his old Brother electric typewriter. He learned how to get it to do what he needed it to do, and it did it well, for many years.

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What’s your relationship with the technology you use? Do you expect it to “do it for you,” or do you find ways of working with what you
do? Please share, by adding a comment below.

This week: FaceBook pages

I have been having a lot of luck lately with FaceBook pages, and have been creating FaceBook pages for several different clients.

This is a good thing, because as CopyBlogger pointed out recently (www.copyblogger.com/facebook-killing-seo/), FaceBook is really changing the game. With reportedly up to 250 million people on the site now, you really have to have a FaceBook strategy.

And lest you think it’s still just for the kids, the membership in the older demographics has been going up steadily.

FaceBook has been referred to as a “walled garden,” because the vast majority of what goes on in there is not available to Google. Traditional marketing strategies such as SEO, or AdWords, simply don’t work in there.

And it is this walled garden that people are flocking to, taking refuge from spammers, and just a glut of information.

But now, on to the point of this: FaceBook pages offer an incredible opportunity to businesses.

Anyone who has an account on FaceBook can create a FaceBook page, for their business, service, product, or even as a fan page for a concept or cause.

And, here is the ideal situation: Your friends see your posts in their news feed, fall in love with it, and click “Become a Fan”. Then, their friends (who don’t even know you exist!) fall in love with it too, and then they become fans. And, as the old commercial goes, “and so on, and on, and so on,” until the whole world–or everyone who could possibly become a fan–becomes one.

Meanwhile, lots and lots of them end up becoming clients, or buying your products, or supporting your cause, etc.

Does this make sense? FaceBook has made it really easy for people to share things with their friends. All you have to do is click “Become a fan,” and you’ll start getting updates in your news feed. All you have to do is click “Share”, and you can share the post with any friends you think will find it valuable. And that is how it can spread.

Emphasis on the word “can”. Like anything else, thought needs to be put into this, to do it right. To take full advantage of the situation.

I can’t cover everything here, but here are the basics:

1. Use Your Page Title. Your page title needs to be the front-line marketing for your page. Ask yourself this: “If I knew nothing about this company, but I was interested in the topic, what would cause me to become a fan?” A great example of this is theKbuzz (www.facebook.com/thekbuzz). They use the page title to list both their brand, and their function: “theKbuzz | Social Media and Word of Mouth Marketing”.
2. Make a Compelling Image. Pick a compelling, fun, and interesting image. Remember that it needs to work for both the thumbnail image, and for the larger image on the page. Play around.
3. Write for Your Readers. Oh, yes, that. Post something, at least once a week. Remember: do not hype your brand, product, or service. Instead, give people valuable information in an easily readable format. Using the Notes tab in your page is an easy way to post content.

There’s lots and lots more, but that’s a start! Email me with any more questions you may have!