So this IS Christmas…

Listening to my favorite Christmas song this morning prompted me to write this Blog.  The John Lennon Classic – So This Is Christmas calls for Christmas to make the world a better place.

Well yesterday I was privileged to see some of his thoughts put into action in Adelaide.

I was invited by a good business colleague, to attend a Christmas Lunch in the city on Christmas Eve .  He has been running this lunch – The Mates Christmas Lunch for 26 years and this was my first…   But whats so special about that.

Well lunch starts with a busker brought up from the street – this year a young Russian lad playing Christmas Carols on the Violin who walks off with a hundred bucks or more in his violin case …..then we all singing of the Club Anthem –  which is the national anthem – Advance Australia Fair with more appropriate lines like —

Australians All love Kangaroos,

Our Land is Dirt by Sea

In shorts and thongs we sing this song

ete etc                                                                                                                            

Then during the lunch Mark (the organiser) gives a 30 – 60 secs overview of what each attendee has achieved in business and plans to achieve in the next year … an inspired and inspiring group to say the least!!

At the end of lunch each of the 50 or so attendees pays for the lunch and throws in a few extra dollars.  The lunch and drinks are paid for and what is left over s(several hundred dollars) is dived up in lots of $150 or so and put into three envelopes!!

Then the lunch attendees take a stroll down Rundle Mall (Adelaide’s man shopping street) and look out for family groups who look like they could use a few extra dollars at Christmas!!

When generally agreed one of the guys approaches the family .. hands them the envelope … wishes them Merry Christmas and tells them to spend some money on their kids for Christmas.  With looks of surprise turning to delight the group them moves on …. there is no publicity no expected thank you letters … we remain anonymous as we move on to find others that we think need some support.

In line with traditional we find ourselves in a menswear stores drinking real coffee and then off to a Jewelers for a cleansing ale before heading home.

What a great way to spend Christmas Eve with some real quiet achievers and have the chance to do something that is good for the community and good for your our soul…  I am sure that thanks to Mark and his merry men there are 3 families in Adelaide today telling their friends and relatives that there is a Santa Claus after all!!

… and these Grumpy Old Managers want to talk to me soon about Social Media!!

Seek ….. and You will be Found

With everyone I speak to now wanting to know how to generate business using Social media I have finally realised the Internet is one big search engine.

Whether it’s what you put into your LinkedIn Profile or your Blog Posts or your tweets etc … it’s all about being found.   So when thinking about how you want to use Social Media to max value you need to begin with the end in mind..

So while I agree that you need to start by Listening (growing bigger ears as Chris Brogan says) you needed to think about what !  (is that proper English??)

Before you write anything you need to put yourself in the shoes of the Seeker/Searcher and make sure that you develop a list of words and phrases that you then use regularly in your profile, your status, your blog etc.

If you want the old adage Seek and You will Find to work for you in developing business make sure you always make it easy for those that Seek to find you but focus on what they are looking for and not on what you want to say.

……and no matter what words and phrases you use in your efforts to be found make sure you always Say What You Be …….  but …….   What You Say……..   and focus on the benefits you can bring to the people you want to find you … not just on how good you, your business, your people etc

Aim to develop dialogue not a monologue!!

Its beginning to look a lot like … a Social Media Christmas

In some very recent research, in the first week of December, 28 per cent of US consumers claim social media has had a significant influence on their Christmas shopping plans this year..The research by  digital analyst comScore, covering the period between December 4th and 7th 2009, showed that as many as 13 per cent of respondents read a consumer product review on a social media portal which had subsequent impact on their purchasing.

While expert product reviewers had most influence,  seven per cent had followed a fan page on Facebook to take advantage of special deals on offer.

Twitter has had a similar  impact on this year’s Christmas shopping trends, with five per cent of respondents saying they have followed a company specifically to find out about special offers.

In addition the research showed that this year Christmas is on the verge of sparking a major shift ti online shopping.

During the 36 days of the November to December 2009 holiday season US consumers have spent nearly $16 billion (purchasing online – a three per cent increase on the same period in 2008.

however, it would appear that momentum will continue to grow as the week ending December 6th saw $4.6 billion spent on the web Thats more than any week in the past 12 months!!!

One of the major benefits of shopping online (apart from avoiding the crowds and finding bargains) … is that you have to get it done and dusted early to make sure your gifts arrive on time.  So unlike The Grumpy Old Managers the online shoppers are well and truly finished and will have a stress free lead up to the silly season!