Category: add value

10thHuman: On the value of asking a question

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

I’m reading A More Beautiful Question right now by Warren Berger and came across this insight.

One good question can give rise to several layers of answer, can inspire decades-long searches for solutions, can generate whole new fields of inquiry, and can prompt changes in entrenched thinking. – Stuart Firestein

I suspect Firestein is coming at this from a deep philosphical perspective but this is applicable to our existing businesses, too. For example, from a business perspective, I continually ask myself, How can I add value?

What is your question?

 

The Blog is Dead, Long Live the Blog (or: what blogs do you read?)

file-dec-05-1-29-20-pmFacebook is an incredible tool for connecting to our fellow humans. As a platform, it provides an awesome way to connect to fellow groups and communities. The last time I checked, something on the order of 52% of web sharing is occurring within Facebook.

That’s a staggering statistic.

It’s masking several problems, though, two of which I’d like to elaborate on.

First, the 52% statistic means there is 48% of web traffic Facebook users who rely on this medium alone are not seeing. Personally, I believe this risks building an echo chamber of sorts. Breaking out of the Facebook bubble we’ve built may expose us to alternative sources of information. And I don’t believe that is a bad thing.

Second, Facebook does not, in my humble opinion, lend itself to in depth conversations. This is not to suggest blogs do so, necessarily. However, a blog is a more static platform. I personally find it easier to track conversations in vs. the non linear nature of the way our Facebook feeds us informations.

What are your thoughts?

Please also feel free to share any blogs you frequently read. Personally, I am a Seth Godin fan, as well as find Scott Adams a good read (side note: his content often challenges conventional wisdom).

The future of content marketing…

credit: pixabay
credit: pixabay

5,000

That is the number of decisions the average consumer is faced with every day (reference The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload).

I’ve blogged about permission marketing and the power of authenticity but I wanted to talk today specifically about what the future of content marketing looks like.

Rachel Strella has a great post up here that talks about three major takeaways. It’s worth the read, for sure.

There’s something I’d highlight today that I think a lot about: quality, authoritative content.

With the massive amount of posts, tweets, blogs, snapchats, instagrams, etc., out there, if you are producing surface level content you are shouting into the void.

I think to make a difference, to be heard, you have to establish yourself as a passionate advocate and student of your niche. Some would say be the ‘expert’, but there’s a finality to that word that I don’t subscribe to personally.

Every day, study your art.

Every day, practice your art.

Every day, share your art.

Become the voice of your art with quality, authoritative content.

Have you asked your ten questions?

cooltext204249260347548I’m currently reading The Ultimate Guide to Link Building and found a gem within the first few pages (several, actually).

For today, I’d challenge you to ask yourself ten questions your web presence answers for a consumer.

What are ten reasons they’d visit your site for? 

If you can’t provide ten, it may be time to examine your communications strategy.

What are your value adding links?

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

“A business or product can be understood as the sum of it’s value adding links.”

– Jay Samit

For me, this quote inspires me to daily ask myself, what are your value adding links in my business/product/network? 

Why is this an important question to ask?

If you don’t know where you are adding value, you cannot focus your efforts on those parts of your business. 

It seems to me that a critical part of a successful enterprise is knowing where you adding value, especially in an age of scarce resources (money, attention, time).

10th Human: Why you should network

tree-200795_640It’s 99.99% likely you are reading this on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or the Internet. We are a networked planet, nearly globally. With such a diverse possibly of contacts, you are quite literally losing business if you are not engaged in some form of networking.

In researching this question, I came across this article from Dayna Steele, from Relate by Zendesk. She absolutely nails it when she writes, “The larger your network, the more opportunities, ideas, and answers come your way.”

Be you. Be authentic. Add value.

Your business very likely depends on it.