Measurement.  It is how you address the sate of your progress towards your goals.  It helps you discover new opportunities and weaknesses you may not be aware of.  In sports the ultimate measurement is the scoreboard at the end of the match.  In social media… the measurement is more than just followers and fans.  Measurement in social media is what you define it to be.

Alice – Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?

Chesire Cat – That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.

Alice – I don’t care much where

Chesire Cat – Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.

– Alice In Wonderland

What You Measure Matters

If you have developed a plan for your social media effort then you have identified metrics you are going to measure.  (If you haven’t done this then you better reevaluate your social media plan!)  These metrics can be new fans/followers, depth of conversations, new leads, response times, and possibly even new sales.  Whatever your metrics are you need to measure them against your investment of resources and time.

What you measure matters as it is where the focus of your efforts are during your social media campaign.  It is that old adage of “inspect what you expect.”  If what you are measuring is not acceptable or working, there is nothing wrong with making changes.  As you do meet your goals, your metrics will change and they should.

A man’s friendships are one of the best measures of his worth. – Charles Darwin

Pros and Cons of Different Metrics

When building your social media plan you have most likely identified what success looks like.  Perhaps it is something like this:  Your business is rolling in business from all the hits your website gets, and these visits start from the success of your Facebook fan page and tweets.  Nice story right?   What are you going to measure to get there?

There are a number of different metrics for social media, and currently there is not really a gold standard.   That will change with the expansion of use of social media by different businesses.  Remember that what you measure matters.

Fans & Followers. This is the easiest metric to measure.  You need fans, friends, subscribers, and followers to allow your social media campaign to have any effect at all.  How fast you grow this list is a direct measure to the strength of your brand, the quality of your content, and the sincerity of your interaction.  The feedback on your efforts is instant.  This metric is dynamic and will always be changing.  Another thing to keep in mind is that popularity does not translate into business.  If you are collecting fans/followers like baseball cards then you are not valuing the real benefits of social media: conversation.

Depth of Conversation. Here is a startling statistic for you to ponder:  99% of all tweets and posts do not get a single interaction.  (Data from Yahoo R&D Labs.)  This means that no one forwards them through re-tweets, responds to the information offered, or comments on what has been sent.  This could be due to the volume of information being created on a minute-by-minute basis or that most posts lack quality.

Independent of what your goals are for your social media campaign, this metric is one of the most important you want to measure.  It is also the most difficult.  Why?  Well, what is the definition for “Depth of Conversation”?  Is it duration of interaction?  Is it how many times it gets forwarded and re-tweeted?  Is it the driving force behind a purchase?  The answer is it can be one or all of these things.  You need to decide what “Depth of Conversation” means for you and your business.

New Leads/Sales.  According to Dell, they made over $7 million in sales using Twitter.  Special deals and offers were extended only to their followers and those that had received re-tweets.   Yet direct sales from twitter and other platforms seem to be the exception instead of the norm.  Development of new leads and business relationships tends to be the result of social media campaigns.  Measurement of these two metrics is fairly straightforward.

You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved.  They go together. – Earl Nightingale

Right now the rules are being written on how to measure effect, investment, and impact of using social media.  If you are not measuring then you better start now!  Otherwise you are just grasping in the dark and that type of effort is usually wasted effort.

Additional Resources On Measurement

Impact of blogs for businesses

How To Track Social Media: Analytics

Get A Yardstick

Measurement And Analysis of Social Media

How do you measure your social media impact?

Physics is governed by laws and theories that help scientists understand how our universe works.  There is the Theory of Relativity, the String Theory, and Newton’s Laws.  So it is with business.  While there are theories out there that you can put to use in helping make your business successful, there are also business laws that you violate at your own peril.  One of the most famous laws is the Law of Location.

Your office, your shop, your website, and you attendance at networking events are proof of the Law of Location at work.  If you are where your potential clients and customers are then you will most likely be successful.  Conversely if you are in a place where there are no potential clients then… it is going to be very hard to be successful.

The same Law of Location applies to where your business should spend its time in social media.  Your chances of having successful engagements and conversations will be best served if you are in the right location.

I want to put a ding in the universe. – Steve Jobs

Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Oh! My!

Facebook and Twitter are household names.  You may have a personal profile on both of them.  There is no doubt that both are growing and being used more by businesses to communicate with their customers.  The latest stats show that the trend for the use of Facebook will most likely eclipse the use of Google.1 Yet is that the right platform for your business?

A great place for a high traffic newsstand?

Twitter is a real time streaming platform that only allows you to communicate in 140 characters or less.  Dell, Starbucks, JetBlue, and Whole Foods are considered the most successful corporations that use Twitter.  Dell is even reporting that it has earned up to $3 million in sales through its use of Twitter.2 Can your business really provide value in a rapid-fire environment like that?

The answer to these questions comes back to knowing your market, your business, and your customer.  Before you even jump into social media, you better have that knowledge firmly researched and understood.  The best way to do that is… ask your customers!  Ask them if, when, where, and how they engage in social media.  Doing this diligent research will save you the time (which always equals money) that you will invest in your social media effort.

So get cracking and do the necessary research before you even begin your campaign.  You might even discover that social media is not right for your business.  Yet, I highly doubt that.  The reality is that you will most likely discover that there are only a few platforms that are right for your business.

I like the atmosphere, the food and the beer.  The location is perfect, very easy to get to. – Arun Das

Communicate Correctly At Your Location

This sounds like that should be something that is easy to do, but sadly many businesses do this incorrectly.  Each social media platform has its own rules for engagement and the community expects you to get it right.  Otherwise you will be ignored or worse… labeled as a spammer!

It is the same when you would research a physical location for your business.  Not only would you look at the traffic that will place clients at your doorstep, but also at the rules and laws you have to follow to advertise to that traffic.  The same applies to social media, although without the official laws and codes that can land you with fines.

Shouting! The best way to shut communication down!

One of the bet ways to understand the nature of the communication of the social platform you have chosen is to observe.  Watch how your clients communicate with your competition, other customers and in other markets outside yours.  Passively observe your competition and how they communicate with your market.  By listening – which can only be active when applied to social media – you will learn what works, what offends, and what is… boring.  This information will help you create content that engages and builds a conversation around it.

Remember that business is a transaction between people.  For that transaction to take place ideas, concepts, and values have to be communicated in a means that is easily understood by all parties involved.  That means you have to listen to be an effective communicator in the real world and in social media.

I like to listen.  I have learned a great deal from listening carefully.  Most people never listen. – Ernest Hemingway

Successful use of social media is being in the right location and being involved.  That means a give and take and letting the conversation flow like a river.  To allow that conversation to flow you have to give up control and trust those you have engaged with.  Most businesses have a hard time doing that.

Yet, if you are in the right location and you trust your customers, then there is nothing to worry about.  In the process you will learn the underlying needs, ingenious uses of your products/services that would remain hidden, and of new opportunities all by being open.

Do your homework.  Find the social media location where you and your business belong.  Listen, engage, and communicate in the correct way for your social media location.  Allow for the serendipity to begin!

What other ways are there for you to find the right social media location for your business?

2 Miller, C. C. “Dell Says It Earned $3 Million From Twitter” New York Times, 12 June 2009.

Brian,

Like the 21 rules for engagement. I particularly like that you have everyone who is going to have customer contact be involved. (Rules 5 & 11.) Social media should not be the sole realm of marketing, the PR team, customer service, or sales. Instead it should be the combination of all of them that can give companies a dynamic approach to their engagement. The result being a give and a take in the conversation with the constant exchange of information as the valuable solution.

@Erroin

Originally posted as a comment
by Erroin
on briansolis using DISQUS.

Great round up on the top 10 videos on Twitter.

The last video has a great round up of five business benefits of using Twitter for your business. The primary being the realtime content generation that Twitter brings to your SEO rankings. The search engines love content and twitter keeps things fresh to build back links to your business. Something that any business that uses the internet to find clients should not ignore.

Thanks for putting together a great round-up of videos!

@Erroin

Originally posted as a comment
by Erroin
on pamorama: marketing, life, social media using DISQUS.

If your business is online with its very own website then you most likely have a persona online, although you probably did not think about your online persona when launched your website.  You just wanted to get your business on the web.  Your website talks about your business, possibly you, and has pictures.  If you were to describe your online persona that your website puts out… what is it?

I would wager that the word professional came to your lips.

What about fun, hip, cool, classy, kicking, awesome, expert, wow, or generous?

Can all of those descriptions go with a professional look and feel?

All right I will stop with the questions.  You do not need to have an answer for them now, but what you need to do is think about the answers for them, how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you, and how you want to be perceived.  Doing all this thinking will help you define your persona.

You need a persona to attract, engage, and establish relationships in social media.

After I saw Kiss on stage, I wanted my show to look like the fourth of July. The persona of Rick James was wild and crazy, sex, drugs and rock and roll. – Rick James

Authenticity

Are you being real?

If you have done some reading about social media online then you have read about “being real” and “being authentic” when it comes to engaging with others.  This is something that you cannot be careless about.  Once other members on the social network sites feel you are unauthentic you will lose the potential of reaching large audiences.  People are on social media sites to network and engage with other real people.

To be authentic you need to know thyself.  This means asking your current customers, your competition, and anyone with an opinion to give you the honest truth about how your business presents itself to the world.  You might not like what you hear but it will be incredibly helpful.

While you might think you are one funny person – heck I’m in stitches thinking about you right now – if everyone around you does not think so then there will be a huge disconnect.  This disconnect will result in confusion, complaints, and lost sales.  Spend the time to discover who you are.

Once you have discovered what your perceived persona by the outside world is, you need to decide if you are going to embrace it or change it.  Either way your work is not done.  You need to do a total review on how you communicate with the outside world.  Does what you say and what you show match?

All of your marketing material needs to match up with the voice you are using in whatever social media platform you are using.  You want your new fans/followers to dig deeper and learn more about your business.  You want them to become experts about your products/services and rave about you to their network.  That will not happen if there is a huge disconnect between your social media account and your website.  You will be seen as not being authentic.

Who does this best?  Take a look at Starbucks.  Their website, Facebook fan page, and their tweets all have a persona that matches with their brand image: hip cool and coffee.  What makes it even better is that Starbucks has individual baristas participate in the social media discussions.  Each of them adds their individual flare to the discussion but it does not break from the overall persona of Starbucks.  Instead it enhances it, making the Starbucks social media experience 100% authentic.

Because we’re actors we can pretend and fake it, but I’d rather the intimate investment was authentic. – Keanu Reeves

Combining Personas

What Is this Persona?

You may have decided that your personal persona – the fun and whacky you – is not business appropriate.  How sad.  Why hide yourself from the world?  Is it because you feel it is not professional enough?  Afraid you might offend someone?

I hate to burst your bubble, but even the strict “professional you” is offending someone.  So why hide the real you from your business?

The first rule that you must understand and repeat to yourself everyday: People buy from people.  Repeat the mantra because it is true.  People love to buy from other people and establish a relationship that is mutually beneficial.  In fact the whole economy is based on people buying from other people.  It is the exact same way in social media.  So I ask you again, why hide the real you?

If your business is considered by everyone who has an interaction with it as being professional, I am not saying that you should burn that persona and become super crazy.  No, because that is insane.  There is some part of you that is that professional persona.  Instead, you can combine your professional and fun side.  It will make you even more authentic.

Think I am crazy?  Look up Jeffery Gitomer.  He is an author and number one sales trainer.  He is both professional and fun.  People want to be around him and he attracts a lot of business.  He made the decision long ago to combine his professional and fun loving personas.  It has been a success!

Like Jeffery, you can do it too!

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. – Dale Carnegie

Social media is becoming more than just cats playing with laser pointers, bulldogs skateboarding, or the latest stupid human trick.  Social media is a medium that allows your business to engage in authentic deep conversations with your clients, potential clients, and your community.  It is a great tool that can result in successful business ventures if you are true to yourself first.

Take the time to understand how you want to interact with the outside world.  Determine how you want that world to interact with you.  Be fearless and allow serendipity to be your guide.  You will be amazed about what you learn, who you meet, and powerful business connections you will make.

In order to do that you must be authentic.

Barry, when it comes to the “It is just a fad point” — rolling out all the heavy hitters that use social media tends to tune out some of the small businesses I work with. My clients feel that it is further proof that social media requires a tremendous amount of resources to have value for a business. I personally do not agree as I have witnessed businesses that I work with grow their client base, brand, and customer/community relationships through social media.

It would be a benefit to have more small business success stories, implementation lessons, and case studies to demonstrate why this is not a fad.

Great post!

@Erroin

Originally posted as a comment
by Erroin
on Social Media Examiner using DISQUS.

In a previous post I discussed five guidelines a business should follow when it comes to engaging in social media.  They are question, plan, location, test, and measure.  In the coming posts I will be discussing each of them in greater detail.  This post will focus on the questions you need to ask yourself and your business before you begin.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.

Tony Robbins

The Foundation Question

Why should anyone listen to you?

Is anybody listening?

That is a pretty humbling question.  It makes you have to justify your existence in social media.  It puts you on the spot and can make you feel narcissistic in answering.  Yet, in its answer you will find the foundation for your social media plan and how you will measure your success/failure.

When you started your business you asked yourself the same question.  Slightly different in its wording – Why would anyone buy your product/services? – but basically the same.  I am sure you answered that question with a burning passion to fulfill the unmet needs of your customers.  Only you could make them be better off.

You must have the same faith in yourself in engaging in social media.  You have a profound message and that those who listen to you will be better persons, will learn something new, will find answers to their questions, etc.

My client Rocky Mountain Roots knows that their services will lead their customers to lead healthier lives.  They know that their community has a few misunderstandings when it comes to alternative medicine.  So my clients engage their community to educate them.  They hold the passionate belief that they are the best people to educate their community.  That is their why.

What will yours be?

We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.

Friedrich Nietzsche

The Voice Question

Some confuse this with persona, which is how your network perceives you.   Your voice is how you will write, post, tweet, and otherwise engage with your audience.  You need to determine what your voice is going to be and make sure that it is consistent across all social media networks your are engaging in.

Typically most businesses engage in the third person as their voice.  This only gives credence that companies are cold faceless entities that care little for their customers’ needs/complaints.  It is best to have a first person voice.

Speaking in the first person has to match with the social media persona you are going to be using.  The first person creates an individual bond with each person you are engaging with.  They feel as if they are speaking with a real person as opposed to a faceless entity.

Understand that you will not please everyone.  That is okay, because pleasing everyone pleases no one.  So define your voice that best represents your business and make sure that it is personal.

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.

Ernest Hemingway

The Listening Question

If you have been engaged individually in social media already you know that some people and/or businesses are only focused on themselves.  Just like in real life.  It is all me, me, me, and more me.

One of the tenets – one would say laws – of social media for businesses is to listen.  The question that needs to be answered is what kind of listening will you do?

Will you listen just to customers and potential clients?

Will you listen to your markets?

Will you listen to your competition?

Will you listen to learn?

Will you listen to bad/good news?

Will you listen to comments about you?

The answer should be a resounding “YES!” to all of them.

I hear what your saying but I am not listening

The great thing about the different social media platforms is that you can set up searches for items you want to know about, keep tabs on, and to educate yourself.  With many social media platforms providing real-time updates, you can passively monitor and listen.

The key to listening is being active in it.  This means that you cannot listen to everything or it becomes white noise.  When you develop your social media plan you will need to identify specifically what it is that you want to listen to.  Therefore you will be more actively engaged and focused on the information that matters to you and your customers the most!

HINT: Listening is always about them, never about you.

It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time of action is past.

Karl Von Clausewitz

Once you have answered these and the other questions mentioned in the previous post, you will have a strong foundation to build a social media strategy and tactical plan.  You will be able to engage your audience and create loyal fans.  You will be in position to outmaneuver your competition and grow your business.  You will become a social media success!

Additional Reading For Your Success

Make Twitter Successful For Your Business

22 Traits of Successful Happy Bloggers

13 Truths About Social Media

5 Social Media Guidelines For Beginners

What questions would you ask your business, customers, or yourself before you jump into social media? Don’t be shy; share!

The alluring call of the Siren has finally gotten you to succumb.  You are going to market your business into the social media realm.  Here are five guidelines you need to follow to be successful in leveraging social media for your business.

Answer A Few Questions

We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong. – Bono

Before you begin blogging, posting, tweeting, and linking you need to answer a few questions first.  The answers you provide will help you establish a focused effort that will result in a better use of resources.  So take your time to really answer them before you jump feet first into social media.  Here are the questions:

• Why should/would anyone listen to you?
• What is your persona?
• What is your voice?
• Where will you engage?
• Who will you want to engage?
• Who will execute your social media plan?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• When do you want to begin?
• How will you measure success?
• How will you listen?

Ten questions that you should have strong answers to before you begin your social media campaign.  All of them are weighed equally in importance.

Is your team asking the right questions?

It is has been my experience that where companies fail is in answering the first, third, and tenth questions sufficiently.  The result has been that these businesses present an unfocused approach that repeatedly misses opportunities to build a strong brand.  So take your time in researching your answers.

Make A Plan

The path to success is to take massive, determined action. – Tony Robbins

You made a business plan for your business, you made a marketing plan to market your business, and you may even have your salespeople use sales plans to beat their quota.  You know that plans keep your company focused and on target.  So why would you not have a plan for your use of social media?

This plan should layout the overall strategy for your social media campaign.  It will be particularly strong if you have successfully answered the questions above.  Primarily knowing what you want to measure and how you define success in social media are key components to your plan.   It will keep you focused and away from wasting time.

Your social media plan should be incorporated with your marketing, sales, and customer service plans.  It should not be a stand-alone entity.  Doing this will allow you to keep a

The Secret Recipe

single voice and representation of your brand not matter where your customers may engage you.

Your social media plan – like other plans for your business – should be a living document that is updated and adjusted to take advantage of opportunities for your business.  It is best to break down your tactical components of your social media plan into 30-60-90 day increments.  It is easier to execute in more manageable bites.

Choose The Right Platform

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. – Abraham Lincoln

It is important that you research which social media platform is right for your business.  Do not get caught up in the initial hype surrounding some of the platforms out there.  Facebook may not be where your customers are if you are a manufacturing B2B that sells ball bearings.  Go where your customers and where influencers of your customers roam.  This means that you might not go on to Twitter or Facebook, but set up a blog or network intensely on LinkedIn.  Business is still location, location, and location.

Test With Patience And Adjust

Distance tests a horse’s strength. Time reveals a person’s character. – Chinese Proverb

You need to measure your actions.

If you are entering into social media for the first time or coming back to it after a failed attempt, remember that patience is a virtue.  Social media is not a quick sale or a fast customer service resolution.  Social media is about being social and building relationships.  In essence social media is about what you and I do everyday at the office, with our customers, and how we make friends.  All of the things we have learned in the real world apply in social media: it takes time to get to know someone.

The great thing about that time is it allows you to test ideas, messaging, and service models while receiving feedback (that can be brutally honest) about your products.  If you enter into this medium with honest intentions you will be rewarded with insights that you would have most likely been overlooked.

Measure Your Effort

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results – Albert Einstein

When you have established what it is that you want to measure in your social media campaign – measure it.  It could be gaining new followers, subscribers, fans, or customers.  Whatever it may be, the measurement you have selected is the best indicator of your efforts and if they are in alignment with your plan.  This is the same as how your measure your sales versus a quota or the return on a capital investment your business has made.  Otherwise how do you know what you are doing is correct?

Interdependence is and ought to be as much the ideal of man as self-sufficiency. Man is a social being.  – Ghandi

Odysseus had his crew put wax in their ears so they would not row his ship upon the deadly rocks where the Sirens lived.  Only he heard their song.  Your business needs to have the same focus.

When you decide to enter into social media as a marketing tool it can be easy for everyone to want to be involved.  That will tear you business apart and waste valuable resources.  Your effort needs to be focused.

There is no need to rush when it comes to social media.  Learn, observe, research, plan, and then execute a campaign that focuses on building strong relationships.  You will be rewarded.

Business owners, entrepreneurs, individual contractors… lend me your ears.  I come not to bury traditional advertisement, not to honor it.  It was my friend, honorable to how much I paid it, and just to me by providing clients.

If Shakespeare were alive would he write thus about traditional advertisement when compared to social media?  Probably not but it allows me to have some creative fun.

All kidding aside you should lend me a few seconds to understand why you should have your business engaging in social media: it is where your customers are already and are going to if they are not there.  For any business, like yours, to find leads and convert those leads into sales it all comes down to location, location, and location.

Don’t fret, yet.  If your business is not engaging in this new medium you still have time.

Why Now?

There are an infinite amount of posts online that can answer that question probably better than me.  They can give you some insight into why your business should be embracing social media.  Here a few:

• Should You Business Use Social Media Marketing?
• Social Media For Business – Who Is Doing It Well
• 20 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Use Social Media

I am going to ask you why not now?  Is it a fear of time-sink?  Are you afraid of adopting something that leaves the impression that it changes quickly on a whim?  What is it that holds you back?

Customers Need To Be Part Of The Equation

You need to answer those questions honestly to yourself.  I even propose that you write those answers down – step away from them – and then comeback and read them aloud.  You will find the language that you have chosen to answer the above questions will give you clues to the real reason why you have not adopted social media.  Most of all it is out of fear of changing what already is perceived to be working.

Yes, I said perceived.  When was the last time you calculated your margin of return on the advertising dollars you have spent?  Most likely the margin has shrunk over time.  So while it is working, it is not working as well as it used to.  With dollars and budgets tight in any economy, you need to maximize your margin of return as much as possible.

Right there you have a major “WHY”.

Still not convinced?

I can see why.  You probably run a B2B business that has a special niche and most of your clients are not in the twenties or below.

Well I’ve got some bad news for your perception – one of the fastest growing demographics (and happens to be the largest) in social media is 26 and older.[1]^{, [2], [3]} These demographic statistics includes decision makers, influencers, and buyers of your products/services.  Why would you want to ignore them?

More businesses are going on social media platforms to promote their expertise, their products/services, listen to their customers, and monitor their competition.  The social activity that these businesses create online feeds into increased links to their websites, increased exposure to key clients, and increased margins of return for their investment.  They are gaining access, information, and clients.

What To Do

Determine which platform best suites your business model.  Is it Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, Blogging, etc?  You need to investigate which ones you are going to invest your time for your marketing efforts.  Hint:  It most likely will be two or three but not all of them.

Once you have discovered which platform meets your needs, then you need to create a social media plan.  In this plan you want to establish:

• Policies and procedures on how your business will use social media.
• Measurement of specific metrics that have meaning for your business; typically this will be leads and sales.
• One voice that represents your business across the platforms you have chosen.  Consistency is key.
• Clear timeframes for engagement and disengagement.
• Long-term vision with patience.  It will take time to build up your network if you are not a household name.

As with any plan you will monitor and adjust as needed to ensure that you have a successful campaign.

Business Is A Social Enterprise

One thing to keep in mind is that authenticity rules in social media.  This means that you have to be social and engage.  It sounds odd if you are not used to this medium but it is important to making your use of social media a success.  Failure to do so will result in wasted time, energy, and money.  (Yes, while it does not cost you to sign up for accounts on these platforms, someone is manning them and you are paying that someone.)  Engagement is a roundabout with multiple lanes accessing it.  That means traffic will be circling, entering, and exiting from a number of directions.  This is atypical of traditional advertisement and can leave you with a feeling that everything is out of control.  Breathe deep.  It is okay.  You are being social!

Fortune is merry, 
and in this mood will give us anything. – Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

Your business and you will find some incredibly wonderful new fans, clients, and opportunities.  All of which you most likely would have spent a lot of capital to obtain or miss completely by using traditional methods.  If you still have questions as to why you should be using social media for your business, contact me; I’d love to demonstrate the benefits to you!

What keeps your business from engaging in social media?  What information do you need to help you make up your mind?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed, like social media, to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

[2] Dispelling The Youth Myth – Web Business

[3] 35 Crucial SEO, Twitter & Social Media Statistics For Business People – SEOptimise

I have mentioned before that leadership is highly sought after by organizations of many different stripes.  As a species we are drawn to organize ourselves in groups with named and un-named leaders.  No matter how much we cry for individualism, we look for strong leaders for guidance, inspiration, and to challenge us.

Where Does Your Compass Point?

Since there is so much data out there on leadership, I thought I would do the helpful thing and give you a round up of different leadership podcasts.

The Leadership Podcasts

Project Leadership Podcasts – A podcast for project managers, R. Camper Bull interviews thought leaders on the latest tools and skills a certified project manager (PMP) must possess.

EMS Leadership – Part of the EMS Radio, these podcasts address the various trends and issues for leaders in the EMS field.  Items discussed are Six Sigma in the management of EMS teams and who are the customers for an EMS team.

UC Berkley Organizational Leadership – Can’t get to a business class on leadership?  Why not drop in at UC Berkley and skip the quizzes through this podcast!

CEO Exchange – PBS sponsored podcast of interviews with leading CEOs.  Learn from the successful captains of industry!

Harvard Business Review IdeaCast – A weekly podcast that discusses the latest business trends.  This podcast discusses lessons learned for leadership successes and failures.  It does not focus only on leadership, but on business as a whole.

21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John Maxwell’s podcast on the different laws from his best selling books.

World Business News – By the BBC these podcasts deal with current events.

London Business School – A podcast that discusses leadership and current business trends that can impact a leader’s decisions.

What Great Bosses Know – This podcasts interviews managers and business leaders on practical skills they learned to become great bosses.

There are many more podcasts out there.  Just like there are probably so many books on leadership that they could build a ladder from the Earth to the Moon.

What leadership podcasts do you listen to?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed, like social media, to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.