That's me and mom in the bottom right.

I was presenting a Facebook Marketing overview the other day, and I mentioned that Hippies were perhaps the first social network. I said it as a lighthearted opener, but there are some things we can all learn from Hippies that apply to social media marketing.

Before you think “What does a 40 year old, bald, sweater-vest wearing business guy know about Hippies” I’ll tell you. I lived in a communal environment when I was a young boy and my parents still carry their hippie sensibilities. In fact, I called my father for some research for this article… Like many young men, after being drafted and fighting in Vietnam, he came back home a bit different – and for a long time, didn’t associate with anything corporate, or any scissors apparently. We lived in a school house with another couple and their 2 kids from 1971-1975 and for all of the challenges of communal living and no running water – there was something endearing and magical about the “Norway Hall School House”. (All of the pictures in this article were taken by our family or friends of our family.)

Here are 5 ways that thinking like a Hippie will help you with your social media marketing:

1)  Hippies Hang With Other Hippies
My dad said in any town, without knowing anyone, he could spot like-minded individuals simply by how they were wearing their clothes and their hair.

When you talk with people on Twitter or Facebook connect with the crowd of folks you want to be associated with. For me, that was social media people and entrepreneurs in and around Nashville. That specific audience has grown a bit, but I am now ‘part of that club’ simply by interacting with ‘like minded’ people. Another great example is my friend Steve Chandler’s “Birds of a Feather” strategy. If you follow Steve on Twitter, you are likely to see him communicating with the destination marketing organizations and thought leaders in that community. He’s done so well at connecting with people in this space over the last year, he was recently on the list of 100 most influential tourism professionals. He will share with you that it wasn’t an accident. He followed and talked to the people that he wanted to be associated with and became part of the clique simply by interacting and adding value to that group. He stood out from the crowd like digital tie-dye!

Hello! Sue Bratton Early 1970s

2)  Hippies Share
“Peace and Love dude, you want a drink?” Hippies share their thoughts, ideas, beverages, clothes, bootleg music or other party favors. I realize the negative implications of ‘communism,’ however a ‘commune’ or ‘inner circle’ of like minded business friends is critical for business growth.

Do you have some awesome articles you read lately? What about a great piece of business, marketing, networking, product or financial advice? Tell others. Post it on your Facebook, blog, on Twitter, Tumblr, send it in an e-mail or make a video… I must have told 1000 people that the book ReWork changed the way I interact with my business, and the book Strength Finders changed the way I viewed my team and family. I send and receive great articles and motivation videos from my team and my friends. There is strength in numbers and business ownership can be lonely. Knowing someone has their eye out for you is motivating and can make a big difference in your business.

3)  Hippies Have Connections
In the early 70’s my folks had a friend named Jimmy Mitchell. Jimmy had connections. He scored tickets to concerts that my parents could only dream of – (Dylan and The Band in Chicago for example) and always knew where to get oddities, both on and off the grid. My father said that one of his friends told him Santana was coming to a field, close to the small town in Michigan where they lived. He said they got 8th row seats to see the master and his 20 musicians play their hearts out for $10. I said “was Santana big then?” He said “yeah, they played Black Magic Woman and all of the other hit songs”.

Who are you connected with that your network finds useful? Use your social media profiles to promote and build these connections. We had a client that needed photos shot for his website, and instead of finding a resource and adding a markup when it isn’t in our main skill set, I just referred our client to a great photographer, negotiated the rate and arranged the date. We went the extra step simply because we had the connections. The client was happy and didn’t have to work to try to solve that problem and it only took us a few extra phone calls to put together. I’m a huge believer in networking and someone on my team probably knows someone in most services/product related fields – simply so we can help others.

5)  Hippies Experiment
Go ahead and snicker. It’s true. They tend to have an ‘in the moment’ mindset that leads to new experiences. (Some of which lead to seeing unicorns and rainbows, but I digress).

Social media platforms are new and evolving. Pinterest has caught our eye recently and we are investigating and trying new business uses for this tool. Recently after training a client how to use their Facebook Page for business development, they called me and said “hey, we ran some adds to bolster our “Likes” (not a typical strategy I preach) and we had great results.” I was proud that they stepped out and tried something different. For their particular industry it worked very well. It will be fun to see how these new “Likes” convert, and that’s part of the landscape right now. Radio and TV are still useful forms of advertising for the right company with the right audience and the right campaign, and sometimes it takes trial and error to get it right. It’s even more important to try out ideas and concepts with social media because it’s still a young set of tools. The great thing about these tools is that it doesn’t cost much money to try something new. Don’t be shy, and it won’t cause munchies.

6)  Hippies Don’t Take Life Too Seriously
Chill out man! Hippies can be playful, shun traditional rules, and enjoy a relaxed sometimes contemplative environment.

New Year's Eve Was Epic At The School House - Diana Getting Her Groove On

In many forms of traditional advertising, the more slick, packaged and professional the message appeared the more it was ‘welcomed’ by the corporations it represented. With social media, don’t forget the SOCIAL part! Have a dialog with people. Use humor or anecdotes. A good corporate example was last year’s super popular VW Commercial with the kid in the Darth Vadar mask trying to use the force on his dog and a doll.

Much to his surprise, he used the “Force” to start his father’s car after he arrived home. The father of course was showing off the automatic starter from inside the house. The reason this is an example of social media? According to Viral Video Chart, that commercial received 4,746,865 Facebook shares and 3,416 blog posts. As a society, we LOVE things that make us laugh.

Make sure your message has some fun/funny or personality. Even in business communication, you can show your personality. After we sent out a recent newsletter, I got an email from a recipient that said “From now on, I’m only doing business with companies that use the words “dazzle” and “hoopla” in their fine print.”

We add some fun language to everything we do and tell our clients to do the same. It lets the world know that we are real human beings and will interact with you like you are human!

So what do you think? Could you use some of these Hippie Sensibilities in your social media marketing? Did I miss any? (Remember, this is a family show).

Groovy,
Jason Elkins
Transparent Social Media

**Picture Credit Goes to My Hippie Sister Christine Matthews and our family friend Sue Bratton.

The dream up until 18 months ago involved someone else though. I used to have visions of a business man in a long black trench coat coming along side of me saying “come on kid, let’s go build this company together”. It would be a client that I did a great job for, or someone that saw my work ethic and drive, that just “had to have me on their team.” In some dreams, it would be the business owner just months away from retirement that needed to pass the company on to ME, as he transitioned out of ‘work’. (Many times, in those dreams, it was a resort on a beach in Hawaii – dream big right??).

Those dreams never happened though. Instead, something kind of miraculous has: With the help of a great business partner, some divine intervention, incredible timing and that same work ethic – my company is becoming the guy (gal sometimes) in the Trench Coat. We’ve come alongside some great folks, offering support and structure and are bringing them with as we all grow our businesses.

• My business partner has become a sought-after start-up consultant of sorts, helping others start and grow their dreams.
• We have recently brought on Project Director that was looking for just the right opportunity to help a fast-paced company tie up all their lose ends (and she’s super amazing).
• We’re now working with a KILLER designer that was getting frustrated by the lack of ‘good jobs’ (and now he has plenty).
• We’re able to partner with groups and even other agencies to allow them to offer a great service to their members/clients and make that process seamless.
• We’re able to help our direct clients reach their audience in really unique ways.
• We’ve sponsored some super cool events for organizations we love and sponsored a mentor’s book release party.
• We’ve managed to spin off some projects that were a bit outside of our scope to other specialized marketing folks.
• We’ve developed a culture that’s attracting some incredibly talented team members.

I wish I could say I was smart enough 2 years ago to recognize how all of this could come together, but that’s not the truth – I was kind of pushed off of a cliff into company ownership. If I have one piece of advice for someone that always wanted to do their own thing, it would be to not wait. Surround yourself with some good mentors, read ReWork, Brand Against the Machine, Tibes and the Steve Jobs bio, and start something. Start small or “on the side” but start.

The guy in the trench coat may not be coming to give you that big break… However, maybe YOU will get to be the one – others are waiting for.

Jason Elkins
Managing Partner
Transparent Social Media

This is why I could not be more excited about our upcoming Social Media in Action Conference.  (Referred by everyone in-the-know as the SMAC Event.)  I have my favorite speakers lined up for the January 27th all day event and each speaker will be blogging about their respective topics throughout the coming weeks.

Because we like to help businesses of all sizes we have opened up an “Early Bird” discount (http://transparentsocialmedia.com/smac2012/) of $100 off the $299 price until January 6th. (Which also includes VIP seating with early sign-up!) Click here to learn more and sign up to receive the “Early Bird” discount.

Why SMAC:

• Conferences, with great speakers and key ideas are awesome.  You can gain a ton of information from a conference and be motivated to make huge business changes.  However, many times after you leave, it’s hard to know what to implement first or how to actually DO what you’ve been taught.

• Experts are experts for a reason.  They work in the subject matter daily, so when you hear “this is how to grow your business on Facebook” I always question “what business was grown?”  If it is the business of how to use Facebook, then it makes sense that you grew your business on Facebook.  What about a pest control company?  Or a product company or what about a garage builder, real estate agent, toy store, travel company or marriage ministry?

That’s why the SMAC Event is different.  Not only will you hear from REAL experts, with real business experience behind them (not just good practitioners); you will hear HOW to market your business, and you will receive real takeaways to help you implement your marketing ideas.

For my portion, I’ll be talking Facebook Marketing!

The official title of my presentation is:

Engage your audience! Understanding the Facebook Algorithm  and how to utilize creative strategies to get the most out of your status updates.

I’ll be discussing how Facebook’s algorithm works so you understand how to use strategies and techniques to show up in the newsfeed of your potential customers.

Strategies You’ll Learn:

• Status {5P} – for daily posts
• Buddy Up – to highlight your services
• I.C.E. Breaker – to start conversations
• FriendBlitz – to promote events or launch a new product or service
• B.O.P.P. Method – for dealing with negative comments and posts

In addition to my feature on Facebook Marketing, we have a complete line-up of all-star digital marketing industry insiders that are committed to making this an event to remember – and for you to take away actionable items for you to implement quickly and effectively. Check out all the details at the official SMAC Event Page: transparentsocialmedia.com/smac2012.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Jason Elkins
Transparent Social Media

It was some of the most fun I’ve had in my career and I learned as much as I taught.  I’m forever grateful to destination marketing mad scientist Steve Chandler for the introduction and co-instruction.  He’s big-fun to watch live!  His Twitter handle is @sschandler, (connect with him there.)

DEALING WITH NEGATIVE COMMENTS ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE

One of the topics we covered was how to deal with negative comments on your Facebook page.  There are many reasons you could receive negative comments.  Someone may not agree with your direction, platform, or ministry.  You might have a product that some people don’t like or understand…  Sometimes, even when you are trying to benefit your Facebook group with a contest, you can generate frustration.  In class we utilized an example where someone was publicly complaining about not winning a prize they felt they deserved.  The short story is that they entered a picture into a contest that was intended to solicit original pictures, and made it to the final selection before the client realized that the picture was copyrighted.  I give a detailed overview of this example below.

B.O.P.P. NEGATIVE COMMENTS

There’s a scene in the classic movie “Roadhouse” where Patrick Swayze’s character is brought into a rough ‘biker bar’ to help stop fights.  He’s referred to as a “Cooler” and stops altercations before they go haywire.  (The fact that there are 30 fight scenes after he’s introduced is another topic!).  One of his comments is “Be nice, and take it outside”.  I’ve adapted that a bit to fit our purposes, but it’s a good lesson.  (I would have linked the video but the swearing may make you blush).

Be Nice and Take it Offline

If someone makes a negative comment, you could simply respond on Facebook with “sorry you feel that way, if you want to talk, please e-mail me so we can make it right at Jason@thecustomerisalwaysright.com.”

Offensive to the Group? Remove the Post

Only remove a post if it’s offensive to the community. We make the mistake of thinking that our Facebook pages are ours. The truth is that they belong to the user community. Our Facebook pages are made up of others, and therefore all we can do is help control the voice and the flavor of the community. If someone posts something like “this product is not helpful”. That would perhaps be offensive to me as a business owner, but perhaps not to the community, and I wouldn’t recommend removing that post. If however, someone wrote “Anyone who likes this product is a total moron!!!” That would be something worth removing, because it’s offensive to the community.

Policed by Community

Allow the community to ‘self-police.’ One of my ministry clients has a product that is distributed in public settings. Someone posted on the Facebook wall and said “You should be banned from the place where you give away your materials”. A person responded and said “I’ll be praying for you”. That was not a response from the ministry; it was a response from the Facebook community. If you treat your community well, they will come to your defense.

Post ‘Big’ Content

The day the ministry received a negative comment, they posted a long update about “loving your neighbor” from Matthew 5… then a little while later, they posted a video, with a positive message.  Later yet in the afternoon, they posted a picture with a large caption.  All of this new content pushed the negative comment off the page.  Not everyone reads Facebook on a computer screen, or goes to your wall page for that matter… but this process helps those that do.

EXAMPLE – BOWLING BALL COMPANY UPSETS FAN WHILE IT GIVES AWAY PRIZE PACKS

First Post From Facebook Fan

 The client tried to connect with the user and compliment him and sent this response via e-mail.

First Response Via E-Mail to Fan - "Be Nice"

Fan's Facebook Response to E-Mail

Community Policing

Track Apology and Offer "Be Nice and Take it Offline"

Fan Final Response Via E-Mail

Consumer is Happy - Actually Went Back and Deleted His Own Negative Comments

Negative comments can usually be quieted with good customer service, and truly listening to your audience.  This is true in business as much as it is in social media.  There will always be a percentage of ‘crazy’ posters and sometimes they need to be banned from a page, but in our experience, people will ‘Like’ a page because they WANT to be connected to that business, brand or cause.

The B.O.P.P. technique is something that can be utilized effectively as a guideline on how to deal with negative postings on your Facebook page.  Have you had experiences with negative comments in the past?  What have you done to address them?

Jason Elkins
Managing Partner
Transparent Social Media

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BACKSTORY
It’s easy to become annoying on Facebook and Twitter as a marketer.  If you are constantly telling others how great you are or if every post is about YOU, your followers will stop listening. Marketing people need to understand that their business Facebook page is not for THEM, but for their followers/fans, and nobody likes to listen to someone brag about themselves all the time.  The problem is that marketers need to talk about themselves (and so do you) in a non-obtrusive, way…  so the challenge is creating a marketing message cleverly disguised as a conversation.

EDIFICATION
If I’m impressed with a speaker at a presentation I’ll give them a shout-out on Facebook and Twitter… “Great job today John, everyone seemed really engaged in your presentation, that that was a funny story about Gene Simmons”.  It lets the world know that John’s a great speaker and he never had to say it.   One of the definitions for “edify” is to “uplift” someone, and I certainly tell all my Facebook audience how awesome others are – regularly.  This edification can take the form of questions and that’s where the BuddyUp technique comes in.

EXAMPLES
Mailynne Calvin helps my team in many ways.  She handles content writing, marketing support, sales follow-ups, event organization and helps glue our company together in too many ways to list.  She’s also an entrepreneur and works in the wireless, phone, and energy business.  She’s busy and not obnoxious about marketing on Facebook and Twitter and I try to help when I can.  She told me that her wireless/energy company was going to add Comcast Cable to their service offering and it was coming in a few months.  I wanted to help her get that word out, so – without being prompted I employed the “BuddyUp” technique on her Facebook Page:  I posted “When can you start selling Comcast?”

Click on Image to Enlarge

I could have easily called her or emailed her, but I was hoping that she would have an opportunity to discuss this new service and that it would lead to some branding and/or a lead for her… If you look at the comment stream, that’s exactly what it did.

Mailynne returned the favor a short time later and posted the following on my wall:  “What do you think about the new FB changes?”

Click on Image to Enlarge

My company does a ton of work on custom tabs and apps for Facebook, so it is necessary that I DO have an opinion on Facebook changes.  This question led to some great engagement and helped to continue to brand me as someone that is knowledgeable about Facebook and social media.  Mailynne could have easily asked me on the phone or in person, but used the question on my wall for some branding benefit for me.

This technique also works with Twitter.  Again – my “buddy” Mailynne posted a question about my latest social media strategy, and right away we had a comment from one of my clients expressing interest!

Click on Image to Enlarge

OTHER INDUSTRIES
So, here are some additional examples of how you can be someone’s buddy:

Web Designer:  “Hey Donald, what’s your favorite site you’ve launched lately?”

Health Coaching/Product Business:  “Hey Kathy, how many pounds has your top client lost over the last year?”

Car Saleperson:  “Have any hot deals on the lot this week?”

Ministry:  “Johnny, what’s the message this weekend?”

Hair Stylist:  “Adrienne, what’s the latest ‘do’  “?

Photographer:  “Mike, post your favorite picture from your last shoot so I can see what you’re up to!”

The BuddyUp technique has grown out of letting someone know that they did a great job (edification).  In it’s present form, you get to help someone talk about their business in a non-obtrusive way.  Their marketing, becomes a conversation and if they reciprocate so does yours.

So, go find a buddy.  Find some other active social media folks in your industry or your circle of influence and help them stir up some engagement about their business.  Then explain to them what you did offline, and ask them to return the favor.

BuddyUp!

Jason Elkins
Managing Partner
Transparent Social Media

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UPDATED SYLLABUS
Syllabus Outline Revised_v3

WEEK1

Week 1 Belmont – Facebook Overview

Social Intro – Belmont – Steve Chandler

WEEK2

Week 2 – Twitter 101

Social Media Planning Worksheet

One Page Social Media Plan

Week3

Blogging And Social Media Belmont

Week4

Geeking Out – Leah Mackey

TECH COUNCIL

Case Study Form – Belmont Social Media Course

Marketing Goal for NashHire

NashHire Marketing Objectives

Because of my company, I study various social media tools, and recently I have been getting this question… “So, what do you think about Google+”? I was lucky enough to get an invite when it first came out, and I set up a profile and have been updating and observing. I like many things about it, and at the same time I’m having a philosophical issue.

With Google+ you are able to easily sort your friends in categories. The idea is perfect in theory… If you have a status update or a link to share about music, you simply go to your ‘circle’ that you set up for your ‘music loving’ friends and send them and ONLY them your latest thought on something else genius that Jack White did.

If you are a sports nut, maybe you would share a video of your favorite new sport, Kung Fu Volleyball, with your volleyball team.

One of the circles that I set up is called “Geniuses” and it has my friends that always seem to have the answer to a challenging question… and I might post something there.

The thing I find personally challenging is exactly what many folks love about Google+, you are easily able to categorize your friends. It’s challenging because I made a commitment to myself years ago that I was going to live my life more transparently… That I wouldn’t have a different standard for communicating with my “church friends” or “business friends”. I wanted my family to get the same “me” that the world would see. I had a tendency to get caught up in how I wanted others to think about me, so I would adapt to a group based on my agenda or my thoughts on what they wanted to hear from me.  This got really tiring, and I wasn’t sure who the ‘real me’ was all the time.

I made the effort to change some things in my life and it’s easier and less stressful for me to not over-think ‘who I need to be’ in any situation. In this way, I’m a bit conflicted with Google+. The interface is beautiful, there’s no ads (for now) and the functionality is very slick and feels solid. There is video chat and it integrates with lots of Google products I already utilize (Gtalk, Gmail, Google Calendar) etc, so the functionally is great.

Downside of Transparency
I’m sure my business contacts get tired of all of the personal stuff I post on my Facebook page, and my family may tire of all of the business stuff, and who knows how many people get tired of reading updates about my faith… but that’s all part of me. I’m ok with that, and I tend to attract clients that like that brand of authenticity. I can just be me all of the time, and I like me. (I would like me more if I weighed less, but I still like me a whole lot now.)

With Facebook or Twitter, I just post something and it’s out there for the world to read. That’s it. I don’t have this extra layer of decision-making about which group of friends it should go to. I actually think from a networking standpoint, this works better… My friends that aren’t into social media still may know someone that needs a guest speaker on businesses using Facebook and Twitter. Maybe my non-music friends need to watch a Korby Lenker video – they might enjoy it!

I don’t get the transparency thing 100% right all the time, but that’s my goal. As an example, my pastor probably hasn’t heard me swear like my brother has, but my pastor knows that I can use those words when necessary.

I had this conversation with a friend of mine the other day and he said “well, Jason, most people aren’t like you.” He’s probably right, but I’m ok with that too.

What do you think about categorizing your ‘friends’ into ‘circles’ or ‘segments’?

Jason

I purchased the $2.99 per month service plan so I could call regular phones with my Skype account on my computer (or iPad).  You can set the ‘reply’ number so that your caller ID shows your cell phone number (I did that).  I like to be in front of my computer when I’m on the phone and typically use a headset so I can type project notes or research answers in real time for my clients.

Last week, when Facebook confirmed the video chat rumors integrating Skype’s video chat platform into Facebook, I thought “these are two great technology utilities that will be well suited for each other”.

3 Reasons Why Skype and Facebook Fit Perfectly

1. Skype upset the telecom industry like Napster upset the recording industry.  Both industries have been different ever since, and both industries offered services and products that Skype and Napster offered for free.  Now, Skype and Napster offer paid services in the very industry that they set fire too.  Skype’s rogue nature fits with Facebook’s cowboy mentality.  Facebook has upset the advertising and PR community in much the same way, offering a channel for communicating to an audience that is free, fast and effective if used correctly.
2. I use Facebook chat for personal reasons, but also many times for business.  It’s easy to discuss custom Fan Page projects or training with our clients when we are both on Facebook at the same time.  A chat window is a nice feature for instructions, and it will be even easier with a video.
3. Facebook wants everything in the digital world to feel like a real conversation with real people.  You feel a REAL attachment to your Facebook community, and with chat, messaging and status updates, you can’t get the full range of emotion that you can through looking at someone’s face.  This video feature will really enhance the social experience in Facebook.

Have you thought how you will use this service?

I am expecting this to be a very large ‘win’ for Facebook, and they are already talking about a group chat feature.  I’m looking forward to seeing your face in my chat screen.

See you in the Blue!

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Jason Elkins
Managing Partner
Transparent Social Media

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issuu allows you to publish a full PDF catalog (or book or portfolio) and allows the reader to scroll through pages right in Facebook.   The other neat feature of issuu, is that with one click the catalog will display full screen without taking you away from your current website.  We liked this function and so did Steve’s customer.  (Click here to see Shepenco’s live Fan Page).

We were hoping to help capture the attention of users and stand out to this promotional product company’s audience by embedding their entire catalog on Facebook.

Share Feature at Top of Page

Some of the other features we added were the ability to share the page with friends, and a contact form so their fans could receive a physical catalog.  We also pulled in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

If you are interested in putting your product catalog or book on Facebook, issuu could be a good choice.  The only downside we encountered with issue is that because it is Flash based, it won’t display on Apple handheld device (like an iPhone or an iPad).

Order Field + Comments at Bottom

The promotional products industry has a long history of catalog use.  With the continued explosive growth of Facebook (over 600 million users currently) we are excited about the ability to help them reach their audience in a unique way.

Let us know if you have questions or would like some help with this process!

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Jason Elkins
Managing Partner
Transparent Social Media

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My company, Transparent Social Media, develops custom fan pages and apps for businesses, bands and individuals, and often, our business comes from other marketing firms.  These organizations specialize in different areas and have us build custom Facebook Pages or Facebook Application for their clients, and many times help them develop a social media strategy.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK

Recently, I had a speaking engagement for a Nashville organization, and they sent out a nice e-mail to their members mentioning that I was speaking.  The day before the event, I received the following e-mail:

Hi Jason,

I can’t make it out to the NCBN meeting tomorrow night so I wanted to introduce myself.  My company Whoosh Interactive is based in Franklin and we do a lot of custom web and interactive design and development work.  (You can learn more about us at www.whooshinteractive.com)

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I perused your website and I really like the way you think and the grasp you have on social media.  Social media is something we are asked about by our clients all the time.  While we understand the basics, we don’t have an expertise in that area.  Our focus is more on custom design and development work.

-

I thought there might be some synergies between our companies and wondered if you’d like to grab a cup of coffee (#101?) sometime to chat about it.

-

Thanks!
–
Rob Solberg
CEO
Whoosh! Interactive
www.whooshinteractive.com
Office.615-591-7149
Fax.612-241-0513
Cell.615-668-6663

What stood out to me right away was that Rob had done some homework.  He read enough of my website to notice a blog post I wrote called “100 Cups of Coffee in 100 Days,” and used that knowledge to subtly suggest he was paying attention.

I responded right away and suggested we get together.  He confirmed through e-mail, and our appointment was set a few days out.

CONFIRM

An hour before our meeting I received this e-mail:

Hi Jason,

Just confirming our meeting today at Panera on OHB & 65 at 2pm.  I’m actually headed there now as I’ve not had a chance to grab lunch yet.  Let me know if anything has come up. Otherwise I’ll see you there at 2.

He confirmed (with the location), showed up early, let me know he would be eating and gave me an out “let me know if anything has come up”.

SHOW PERSONALITY

When I fired an e-mail back saying I would be there on time or maybe early, he responded with some personality:

Great. I just grabbed a booth in the back area.
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Look for this guy:  http://www.brainwavestudios.net/rob/images/rob_pic_2.jpg  :-)

Thanks!
Rob

I meet people for the first time at coffee shops and restaurants all the time.  It can be awkward if you don’t know what they look like.  Rob was extremely helpful “I just grabbed a booth in the back area” and attaching a link to his picture was a stroke of genius.

We had a great meeting, and I’m already looking forward to working on projects together.

I’ve been evaluating how I handle MY “First Impression” meetings, and from now on, I’m going to work hard at doing better research, confirming ahead of time and showing some personality.

Jason