Fresh from running a marathon to help non-profit CARE fight global poverty with an emphasis on empowering women and girls with education, and maternal health and micro-finance resources, Ironman Eric Harr joined me to talk about making sure your social media outreach is ship shape.
I interviewed Eric when he was fresh back from completing IronMan Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii. He finished 40th overall, and the 7th American. This the most diff one-day event int he world, and Eric had a perfect day. Eric is the author of the newly released The REAL TRUTH About Social Media: Confessions of a Social Media CEO
To listen to my 30-minute interview with Eric, and to put his insights to work in your business now, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the play arrow. If you don't feel like listening right now, here is a high level summary of what Eric and I discussed, with time stamps in case you want to scroll forward.
- “The first wealth is health” (3:00). Eric provides a short but pointed overview, and a challenge to all of us really, about how he has always pursued sport as a way to be healthy first and foremost. The first thing Eric does in the morning, he says, is kiss his kids and then immediately address his body. He is far more productive because his fitness comes first each day. Eric says that all the things you do to pursue a healthy lifestyle will benefit you in business.
Continue listening to this segment when Eric shares the three things he did to embrace the mindset he needed to be successful as an Ironman.
- Start at the beginning (5:17). Eric says you have to start with social media by asking the question, “Why?” Why are you involved on Twitter, or FaceBook, or whatever? Yes, social media empowers the individual like never before, so there's no question that you should be involved in it. However, social media should drive specific business objectives. Eric says to first decide what your top three business objectives are, and then select the social media tools you will use to drive those goals.
- Go “old school” with new media (9:43). “Social media is not a media. It's a human relationship,” says Eric. So many companies alienate people by trying to “message” them. Eric says to spend time school. Consider “Karen in Kansas,” Eric says in this segment. Spend time caring about and loving on people. If you do that, people will be drawn to you. When that happens, the business will follow.
As you listen, be sure to catch the part beginning at 8:00 where Eric shares specific tools you can use to measure: (1) how many people you are reaching using social media; (2) track how many people are actually clicking on your links; and (3) track how clicks are (or are not) driving sales.
Listen at 9:30 where Eric shares the one social media tool he recommends that everyone use!
Tune in at 17:10 for Eric's advice on buying targeted FaceBook ads, and engaging in what he calls “like-gating.”
About Eric Harr
Eric is the host of the Social Media Minute, the author of The REAL TRUTH About Social Media: 8 Timeless Truths and 8 Monumental Truths, and an IronMan who believes that “Empowering women is unleashing the greatest power on Earth.” Don't miss this amazing show where we'll explore the mind of someone who has used social media to highlight his accomplishments and help others be healthier and more successful in life and in business. Follow Eric on Twitter here, and check out his website here.
And don't forget to join Eric in his commitment to support CARE's vision to help women around the world!
How to Listen to the Show
This post contains my paraphrases of the information Eric shared. To hear it from the horse's mouth yourself, listen to the entire 30-minute show using one of these options:
- Download it on iTunes. (It usually takes a day or two for iTunes to feed the show there.)
- Click on the arrow at the bottom of this post to listen now!
- Because I have not had a chance to load all of my shows to this blog, you can listen to hundreds of interviews from 2005 to 2010, each one as relevant today as it was when I recorded it, at my Indie Business Radio site.
Question: What do you think of Eric's tips?
