When Someone Googles Your Name, What Do You Want to Happen?
by Scott Ginsberg
In my humble opinion, I want four (types of) things to happen:
1. SEARCH RESULTS. First and foremost. The instant
barometer of your brand. Because if you don’t exist on Google, you don’t exist.
And ideally, you’d like people to see as many of the following hits at the
highest possible ranking:
Content demonstrating your unique expertise. Blog posts. Articles.
Newsletters. Whitepapers. Ebooks.
Tweets. All of which fall underneath the umbrella of your philosophy. Your
unique approach. Your theory of the universe. What did you write today?
Interviews supporting your Thought Leadership Platform.
Podcasts. Television. Radio. Print. Blog interviews. All of which validate your
authority by virtue of third party media reaching out to YOU. And these
interviews are either about you, quoting you, or exploring your expertise.
When was the last time you were interviewed?
Videos portraying your interesting personality. You
speaking on stage. You in action. You behind the scenes. You doing what you do.
You being you. All of which show people (instead of "tell" people) why you’re
awesome. And these things help your customers get to know YOU. How much money
are you losing by (not) leveraging online video?
Testimonials confirming your perceived
trustworthiness. Links to your content. Re-tweets about your awesomeness.
Blogs about your products. Word of mouth about your service. All of which
reinforce for potential clients, "Somebody has trusted this person before me."
Who’s talking about you?
Pictures showing you in action.
Ideally, doing what you do. Acting on your passion. Working with clients. Being
YOU. Pictures consistent with your brand. NOT pictures of you hanging out at
bars getting schnockered with your former sorority sisters. Do you want to
become known for what you’re about to do?
Profiles or bios. On Google. On
Social Media sites. On your own sites. On sites where you contribute content.
They give people a snapshot of you. Just few bits of personal information, but
presented in a way that makes the mundane memorable. How boring is your
profile?
2. SILENT DIALOGUES. This comes second. This is
the stuff people think when they see your name. And ideally, you’d like people
to say to themselves:
"Wow, this guy is everywhere!"
Because branding is about increasing activity level. And if you want to be in
the right place at the right time, then you need to be in a lot of places.
How many places are YOU in?
"Man, she sure publishes a lot of
content." Because writing is the basis of all wealth. And the more you give
away for free, the wealthier you will be. Is everything you know written down
somewhere?
"Looks like everyone’s talking
about them…" Because the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being
talked about. And if people aren’t actively telling their friends about you and
your company that means you’re probably: Selling a stale brand, perceived as a
commodity, not word of mouth worthy, boring, unremarkable and normal and (not)
making the mundane memorable. Who’s talking about you?
"I can’t believe I’ve never heard
of this woman before!" Because (clearly), you’re SUCH a big deal and SO
ubiquitous that people assume everyone has already heard of you. And it’s their
fault for being in the dark. And now they have to make up for lost time.
Ideally, by giving you lots of money. Who’s heard of YOU?
"I think I’m in love!" Because
the secret to getting people to fall in love with you is to help them fall in
love with themselves first. The secret is to become S.O.F.A.T., i.e., a person
people can STUMBLE upon, become OBSESSED over, FALL in love with, become
ADDICTED to and TELL their friends about. That’s all that marketing is:
Transferring love. Who’s in love with you?
"Oh yeah, I’ve heard of this guy
before…" Because it’s not about market share; it’s about MIND share. And the
shelf space you hold in people’s minds is the most important real estate in the
world. Are you the universally presumed perpetrator?
"Whoa! That’s a lot of hits for
just one person…" Because your web presence is SO vast and diverse, people assume
you either paid for SEO (ha!) or hired a crack team of specialists and
programmers to build it for you (double ha!) Of course, neither of those are
true because, with the right strategy and a WHOLE lot of content, you might not
need them. Why aren’t you blogging yet?
3. IMMEDIATE ACTION. That’s
what you want to happen next. People impelled to click and explore you and your
business further. And ideally, you’d like people to:
Read, watch or listen to something
you’ve published. And realize how smart and creative you are. Are you a
Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy?
Invite a coworker over to their
desk. So they can ogle over your awesomeness. Do you pass The Cubicle
Test?
Email, call, text or tell someone
about her findings. Not just because you’re worth making a remark about, but
also because it’s EASY to remark about you. Do you pass Tell a Friend test?
Become a part of your permission
asset. By subscribing/following your blog, tweets, videos, ezines, RSS feed
and the like. How many people are anticipating YOUR marketing?
Revisitability. Another one of
those words I just made up. And it’s absolutely essential. It’s about that
addiction. It’s about that "I can’t get enough of this guy" attitude. It’s about
people who come back to your blog or website or Twitter page just to see what
you’ve been up to. Who revisits you every day?
4. CONTACT. Here’s the
final step. After people have Googled you, reacted and taken initial action,
this is the crucial component. It’s when you compound attraction with outreach.
Because ideally, you’d like people to email, call or reach out to you in SOME
way so they can:
Thank you. Because something
you’ve done, written or posted has helped them obtain more money, sex or
happiness. (Oh, come on. We both know those are the ONLY three desires that
drive buying behavior.) What are you the answer to?
Tell you they’re one of your new
fans. Because customers are overrated. Clients are worthless. And prospects
are for amateurs. You need FANS. People that are insistent upon you, your
products and your service. Because the more fans you have, the less selling you
do. How many do you have?
And finally, BUY something.
Because they see value in your products or services. And they’re ready to give
you their money. Hooray! Q.E.D! What is the reason someone is willing to give
you money?
So, that’s my theory. That’s what I want
to happen when someone Googles MY name.
What about you? I’d love to hear your
answers…
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What do you want to happen when someone Googles your name?
Post
your comments here.
Scott Ginsberg, aka "The Nametag Guy," is the
author of eight books, an award-winning blogger and the creator of NametagTV.com.
He's the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 and teaches
businesspeople worldwide about approachability. For more info about books,
speaking engagements, customized online training programs or to rent Scott's
brain for a one-on-one coaching session, call 314-256-1800 or e-mail
scott@hellomynameisscott.com. |