Ryan C. Miller.com – Social Media, Business & Small Things -

Be First

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Miller1 Comment

click to be taken to the Ustream Video Page

In addition to geeking-out, I also play a fair amount of music. Besides my solo work, I’ve been playing with a couple of local rock outfits. This Saturday, one of those groups – MODUS – will be doing a show at The Electric Co in Utica.

We thought we’d try to take a different approach to promoting the show this time around to see if it impacts the number or type of people that end up at the gig. So on Wednesday, we did a Pre-show Show, streaming a live performance of about 6 songs from a secret location (my basement) live on the web. The event was promoted on FB and Twitter and we encouraged people to not only tune in, but to interact with each other and the band via the live chat room. In terms of the streaming event itself, I’d say it was a victory for tech and for us. We weren’t sure how the sound or picture would turn out but everything worked as best as could be expected. People even showed up to watch.

This experience showed that with basically no budget (we did have to replace some bulbs in the stage lights), you can create online events that are special and effective promotional tools. We’re hoping to expand this to a monthly event and do more in terms of cameras and better audio.

We’re by no means the first band to do this. But I believe we ARE the first band in our area to attempt it. I guess that’s the message of this post. If at all possible, Be First. And if you can’t be first in the world, be the first in Your world or your audience’s world. You don’t have to be the BEST, right out of the gate. But this approach does a couple of things. You get to make mistakes and refine an approach before everyone else, which means that if you stick with it, the potential to be BEST as well as first will grow. Second, you become an expert. Even if you fail, the knowledge of why you failed is extremely valuable to others who have wanted to try something similar.

Most importantly though, from a business perspective – First trumps Best (at least in the near term). But it also shows a willingness to take risks, a willingness to fail, and the drive to do something that’s unique (however localized that may be).

So… what are you working that is a unique approach to promoting your event or business? Fire away in the comments. Oh, and if you want to watch a recording of the Pre-show Show, click here.

Great Reads: How to Not Be ‘That Guy’

Posted on April 6, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

Chris Brogan has such a great post this week on how to not be ‘That Guy’ in the social media space.  You know who he is.  The kind of guy that incessantly updates his profile with pointless drivel, the kind of guy who sends out 50 tweets a day about how his services, or abuses e-mail and text messages with repetatitve information, or ‘how I can help your business’ posts?

Problem is, we have all been that guy at some point.  Or he’s a a person we really like but wish they never discovered Twitter or Facebook.

Chris’ post breaks is down for us with a great Analogy.  The Picnic.  Without trying to steal his thunder and risk being that guy, I’ll give you a quick excerpt, but really think you should go read his whole post.

10 Ways to Build Relationships Before You Ask for Anything

1. Comment on and reply to other people’s observations, posts, and ideas. (Sometimes, just retweeting someone’s status message in Twitter is a gesture that matters to people.)
2. Share good information freely, such as pointing to great blog posts or articles.
3. Make virtual introductions when you see obvious like-minded people who could do to know each other.
4. Create useful media like blog posts or ebooks or videos that help people.
5. Find mutual interest points and talk about them. (Bonus points to you if they’re off-topic from your business needs, like talking about the Red Sox or Barbecue.)
6. Remember things about the other person, such as whether they have a big meeting on Thursday, and ask them about it on Friday.
7. Help when someone is promoting their thing. Spread information for other people liberally.
8. Find causes and nonprofit experiences to help out. Showing that you’re not just a capitalist pig goes a long way.
9. Reply to people and build conversations.
10. Thank people when they’re helpful.

To take Chris’ post just a bit farther – how can we as a community help ‘that guy’ from ruining our picnic?  Is there a way to subtley tell them that their constant self promotion isn’t helping, but is really bothersome?  Or should you de-friend and unfollow until further notice?

So, like I said, if you have a few minutes, check out his whole post. It may help you if you’re confused about how to interact and market your skills in the social media sphere.  Or it may help you help someone else.  You know, ‘that guy.’