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Peanut Butter Manifesto: Are you spreadable?
| Guest post by: Ernest Barbaric |
Article Overview: Exploring three key pieces of spreadable, sharable content: Accessing your network's network, Understanding the mechanics of social media and Asking.
 |
Free Download - Peanut Butter Manifesto: Are you spreadable? By Ernest Barbaric |
Peanut Butter Manifesto: Are you spreadable?
Success in social media depends on a boatload of factors… one of which is the spreadability of your content. So, make like peanut butter and reach more of your ideal audiences by following the three principles below:
Aim for your network’s network
First principle to consider when it comes to spreadability: WouldYOUshare the article / update you just wrote withYOURfriends (or tech savvy grandma Agnes)? Does it bring any value to your followers / readers or are you just going through the motions? Creating something worth sharing takes time, insight and effort. To do this successfully, a brand must understand who they are, what they stand for and who they connect with. Your tone and style of writing will naturally vibe with a certain type of audience. Are you comfortable with who your readers / followers are? Are you writing for the RIGHT audience?
Understand the Mechanics of Social Media
Each platform has its own set of unique characteristics. Facebook, for example, has the Like and Share button, which is activated when an image, link or video is attached to a status update. Twitter has retweet, which you can use effectively by creating an update that is about 100 characters in length, so when others RT it, your original message remains intact. YouTube has playlists, Flickr has groups and favourites… and so on. Study your intended channel and look for ways content is shared and spread… unless you are Rebecca Black… in which case you can tell us exactly how to get over 400,000 dislikes in 7 days.
Ask
I’ve been a fan of Mitch Joel’s blog for a while and find his articles very insightful and interesting. I also noticed that Mitch involves his readership by asking questions. Most of his articles conclude by asking the readers what they thought about the topic. Aside from the fact that Mitch is a thought leader in this space, this simple act of asking certainly helps encourage engagement. Next time, just before you hit the post button, consider asking a question of your audience? Not only is it engaging, but also helps to spread your content.
–
Creating spreadability is a function of creating content for the right audience, understanding the intricacies of each channel and encouraging engagement. One company i often reference as a shining star of social media is Target. I believe they understand who they are, what they’re about and who they connect with. Their Facebook page currently has over 5.2 MILLION members. They consistently give away valuable content, share interesting links and engage their audience by asking questions. Recently pronounced“Social Media Champs”by Fortune magazine, getting to this level took planning, time and consistent effort and anyone can follow that path. So, let’s get to work!
Ernest // @ebarbaric
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Business Opportunity Expo - Expo Fairs, Vendor Fair Planning
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Article Tags:
digital marketing,
marketing strategy,
social media,
social media marketing,
social media strategy,
viral marketing
About the Author: Ernest Barbaric
RSS for Ernest's articles - Visit Ernest's website
Ernest Barbaric is a professional keynote speaker and social media consultant. He helps clients engage customers, reach new markets, launch products and transition into digital marketing. Sounds interesting? Get in touch today.
Click here to visit Ernest's website
More from Ernest Barbaric
Does Your Social Media Consultant GET IT
Future of Social Media
Digital Marketing Trends 2010 Buying Process
Peanut Butter Manifesto Are you spreadable
Herding Cats and Social Media ROI
Related Forum Posts
Jennifer Barney: Barney Butter
- Despite the well-known health benefits of almond butter such as vitamin E, fiber, protein, phosphorous, no partially hydrogenated oils and more magnesium than spinach, many people either don’t like almond butter’s taste, don’t like its grainy texture or think it’s a facial scrub. But Jennifer Barney is determined to change all that. It was only a few years ago that, armed with a blender and bags of blanched almonds, Jennifer started whipping up addictively delicious batches of almond butter for her kids. Several burned out appliances later she succeeded in creating the familiar taste, texture and consistency of jelly’s better half, peanut butter. While the kids clamored for more, neighbors knew Jennifer could sell it. She started a business, supplying almond ambrosia to stores across California. After partnering with an investor she recently moved into her own peanut-free manufacturing plant complete with custom-built equipment, making Barney Butter the only almond butter safe for those with peanut allergies.
Barney Butter is already well-known in California, Oregon, Florida, Arizona, Washington and Nevada. By January it will line the shelves of every Fresh Market across the country, heading toward household name fame along with Jif and Skippy. This kind of success is hardly a surprise because as anyone with a peanut butter palate will tell you, Barney Butter is pure almond joy.
What we learned from Jennifer: Be a dreamer, but be realistic. Set time and financial limits. Once you’ve used them up accept that something isn’t working and you need to go in another direction. It may end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.
I can’t believe it’s not peanut butter
When my kids were teething they wanted “real” food. I searched for almond butter but could only find coarsely ground almonds, not anything smooth that they would eat. I thought, “With a little sweetener and salt I can make great-tasting, smooth almond butter!” It wasn’t the entrepreneur in me talking. It was a mom thing. I just wanted to make almond butter that looked and felt like peanut butter for my kids.
The Juiceman Cometh
I broke blender after blender until I finally invested in a heavy duty machine. The one that worked best was The Juiceman I found on eBay. I burned through at least four of those but my kids loved my almond butter! I didn’t tell people what I was doing because really, somebody might have locked me up.
Spread the word - spreadable almonds!
Eventually I started giving my almond butter to friends. It was a hit and everyone encouraged me to start a business. At the time I only had experience in birthing children. That’s it. I had no experience in business, manufacturing or food science. But I did know that starting a business was risky. My husband and I invested a small amount of our savings that we would be ok with never seeing again.
Separation anxiety
I knew my almond butter would separate while sitting on store shelves so I investigated the peanut butter industry’s methods for avoiding that. You would be amazed what you can find online. I found a University of Georgia professor who had written a research paper in 1996 about the application of palm oil to peanut butter for stabilization. I called him. He explained everything I needed to know. I’m sure he had no idea he was talking to a crazy blender-breaking housewife.
The taste of success
By law I had to hire a contract manufacturer to make and pack my product. But to save money I had my friend’s dad design my logo. Then I made labels on sticky paper, cut them out and stuck them on the jars myself. The friendliest mom and pop stores were happy to stock my almond butter because I was local. I did lots of store tasting events to make sure my product sold.
Foot-loose and peanut free
Eventually we out grew our co-packer. We needed a bigger space but couldn’t afford to invest one more cent in the business. I went looking for an investor and through one of my suppliers found not only an investor but a partner. At that point I could afford to expand and I now have my own peanut-free plant and state-of-the-art equipment.
Almond butter and jelly
We’re working on going national. Peanut butter is such a staple, but almond butter is healthier and is perfect for people with peanut allergies. I think that this is something people will love. It’s exactly like peanut butter but made only from almonds.
Curiosity is key
I’m sure at Ladies Who Launch you see this all the time in entrepreneurs but when I was developing my product I didn’t see it as work. I really enjoyed what I was doing and I was driven by curiosity. It became something of an obsession. I was determined to get it right.
This Featured Lady was profiled by Ladies Who Launch Associate Editor Susie Lacey.
Focus Brings Long Term Results
- Over the past 2 years of venturing out and running my own business and not working full-time in a job I have tried numerous business opportunities. I have tried businesses in providing student accommodation, share trading and options, renting and selling paddles to dragon boat clubs and selling toilet odour eliminator products online. This was opportunistic thinking and diminished my efforts as I got started by adding more work rather than focusing on one business. It was all very tempting to try and run them at the same time to see which one would take off. Unfortunately there was no focus and when times got tough I jumped across to work on the business that interested me more.
Opportunistic Thinking Is Bad
If you are like me and see that everything is possible and always keeping an open mind about business ideas, then you will find it irresistible to try new ideas. Trust me I’ve learnt the hard way. So how have I changed this? I’m a huge fan of Yaro Starak’s blog - entrepreneurs-journey.com and one day he wrote a post about his coach Rich Schefren who was launching a new coaching program. As usual most internet marketers have a system to launch their new products and give away a lot of free quality information that can be applied straight away. They do this so they can build rapport with you and show that their information is useful before they start their sales pitch on you. As I knew the information was free and they just wanted my email address, I downloaded Rich’s eBook, the “Internet Manifesto“. If you haven’t read it, I would recommend you get a copy of it immediately.
The Change in Mindset
After reading the “Internet Manifesto”, I had a profound moment that I would change the way I operate my business. My mindset went from “thinking opportunistic” to “thinking strategically” meaning if I wanted to build a long term business I would have to set up the right systems and hire staff to leverage my time. I realised that I couldn’t do everything myself. Rich’s famous flowchart accurately shows how most Solo Enterpreneurs run their Internet Businesseses today. (I’m one of them and have taken action to outsource a lot of my work since then)
Rich Schefren's Internet Manifesto
Since then I have taken action to sell my businesses that are not part of my goals and made a mental decision to not start new business opportunities.
Focus Is Key
Since I was compelled to find out more, I downloaded the rest of Rich’s series of books which are listed below:
1. Internet Manifesto
2. The Missing Chapter
3. The Final Chapter
4. Attention Age Doctrine Part 2
5. Maven Matrix Manifesto
6. The Entrepreneurial Emergency
Through this series I learned that I needed to focus on one task at a time, not five at a time (today’s generation calls it multi-tasking). Making that shift helped me improve time efficiency and also get tasks completed that generated more money. Additionally, you need to use your strengths to focus on a task and learn to outsource the rest that you are not good at. This is the key to long-term success in any business.
Tyrone Shum
Focus Strategist
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva.
Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
Ask
I’ve been a fan of Mitch Joel’s blog for a while and find his articles very insightful and interesting. I also noticed that Mitch involves his readership by asking questions. Most of his articles conclude by asking the readers what they thought about the topic. Aside from the fact that Mitch is a thought leader in this space, this simple act of asking certainly helps encourage engagement. Next time, just before you hit the post button, consider asking a question of your audience? Not only is it engaging, but also helps to spread your content.
–
Creating spreadability is a function of creating content for the right audience, understanding the intricacies of each channel and encouraging engagement. One company i often reference as a shining star of social media is Target. I believe they understand who they are, what they’re about and who they connect with. Their Facebook page currently has over 5.2 MILLION members. They consistently give away valuable content, share interesting links and engage their audience by asking questions. Recently pronounced“Social Media Champs”by Fortune magazine, getting to this level took planning, time and consistent effort and anyone can follow that path. So, let’s get to work!
Ernest // @ebarbaric
Related Articles
Standing Room Only - Should You Steer Clear of Crowded Niches?
Retail Coupons and Retail Product Sampling Strategies
Peanut Butter and Jelly Management
Inquiries to Grow Your Abundance Muscles
The Art of Passion
Hot Buttered Customer Service
So You Have An Invention
Business Opportunity Expo - Expo Fairs, Vendor Fair Planning
Small Business Advertising - Direct Mail Candy Promo Gets Sweet Results
"How to Be Creative" by Hugh Macleod
From Farmers Wife to Successful Woman in Business
Bob McCormack's Christmas Candy Canes
Sales Training – Salespeople Sell Simply So Successfully
The Art of Personal Energy Management
12 Marketing-Takeways from the B2B Marketing Manifesto
Butter vs. Shortening?
Lesson #4: Good Enough Never Is
Why is this key marketing truth so often ignored?
The Seven Sins of Solutions
Moms Picky About Work from Home ‘Offers’
Article Tags:
digital marketing,
marketing strategy,
social media,
social media marketing,
social media strategy,
viral marketing
About the Author: Ernest Barbaric
RSS for Ernest's articles - Visit Ernest's website
Ernest Barbaric is a professional keynote speaker and social media consultant. He helps clients engage customers, reach new markets, launch products and transition into digital marketing. Sounds interesting? Get in touch today.
Click here to visit Ernest's website
More from Ernest Barbaric
Does Your Social Media Consultant GET IT
Future of Social Media
Digital Marketing Trends 2010 Buying Process
Peanut Butter Manifesto Are you spreadable
Herding Cats and Social Media ROI
Related Forum Posts
Jennifer Barney: Barney Butter
- Despite the well-known health benefits of almond butter such as vitamin E, fiber, protein, phosphorous, no partially hydrogenated oils and more magnesium than spinach, many people either don’t like almond butter’s taste, don’t like its grainy texture or think it’s a facial scrub. But Jennifer Barney is determined to change all that. It was only a few years ago that, armed with a blender and bags of blanched almonds, Jennifer started whipping up addictively delicious batches of almond butter for her kids. Several burned out appliances later she succeeded in creating the familiar taste, texture and consistency of jelly’s better half, peanut butter. While the kids clamored for more, neighbors knew Jennifer could sell it. She started a business, supplying almond ambrosia to stores across California. After partnering with an investor she recently moved into her own peanut-free manufacturing plant complete with custom-built equipment, making Barney Butter the only almond butter safe for those with peanut allergies.
Barney Butter is already well-known in California, Oregon, Florida, Arizona, Washington and Nevada. By January it will line the shelves of every Fresh Market across the country, heading toward household name fame along with Jif and Skippy. This kind of success is hardly a surprise because as anyone with a peanut butter palate will tell you, Barney Butter is pure almond joy.
What we learned from Jennifer: Be a dreamer, but be realistic. Set time and financial limits. Once you’ve used them up accept that something isn’t working and you need to go in another direction. It may end up being the best decision you’ve ever made.
I can’t believe it’s not peanut butter
When my kids were teething they wanted “real” food. I searched for almond butter but could only find coarsely ground almonds, not anything smooth that they would eat. I thought, “With a little sweetener and salt I can make great-tasting, smooth almond butter!” It wasn’t the entrepreneur in me talking. It was a mom thing. I just wanted to make almond butter that looked and felt like peanut butter for my kids.
The Juiceman Cometh
I broke blender after blender until I finally invested in a heavy duty machine. The one that worked best was The Juiceman I found on eBay. I burned through at least four of those but my kids loved my almond butter! I didn’t tell people what I was doing because really, somebody might have locked me up.
Spread the word - spreadable almonds!
Eventually I started giving my almond butter to friends. It was a hit and everyone encouraged me to start a business. At the time I only had experience in birthing children. That’s it. I had no experience in business, manufacturing or food science. But I did know that starting a business was risky. My husband and I invested a small amount of our savings that we would be ok with never seeing again.
Separation anxiety
I knew my almond butter would separate while sitting on store shelves so I investigated the peanut butter industry’s methods for avoiding that. You would be amazed what you can find online. I found a University of Georgia professor who had written a research paper in 1996 about the application of palm oil to peanut butter for stabilization. I called him. He explained everything I needed to know. I’m sure he had no idea he was talking to a crazy blender-breaking housewife.
The taste of success
By law I had to hire a contract manufacturer to make and pack my product. But to save money I had my friend’s dad design my logo. Then I made labels on sticky paper, cut them out and stuck them on the jars myself. The friendliest mom and pop stores were happy to stock my almond butter because I was local. I did lots of store tasting events to make sure my product sold.
Foot-loose and peanut free
Eventually we out grew our co-packer. We needed a bigger space but couldn’t afford to invest one more cent in the business. I went looking for an investor and through one of my suppliers found not only an investor but a partner. At that point I could afford to expand and I now have my own peanut-free plant and state-of-the-art equipment.
Almond butter and jelly
We’re working on going national. Peanut butter is such a staple, but almond butter is healthier and is perfect for people with peanut allergies. I think that this is something people will love. It’s exactly like peanut butter but made only from almonds.
Curiosity is key
I’m sure at Ladies Who Launch you see this all the time in entrepreneurs but when I was developing my product I didn’t see it as work. I really enjoyed what I was doing and I was driven by curiosity. It became something of an obsession. I was determined to get it right.
This Featured Lady was profiled by Ladies Who Launch Associate Editor Susie Lacey.
Focus Brings Long Term Results
- Over the past 2 years of venturing out and running my own business and not working full-time in a job I have tried numerous business opportunities. I have tried businesses in providing student accommodation, share trading and options, renting and selling paddles to dragon boat clubs and selling toilet odour eliminator products online. This was opportunistic thinking and diminished my efforts as I got started by adding more work rather than focusing on one business. It was all very tempting to try and run them at the same time to see which one would take off. Unfortunately there was no focus and when times got tough I jumped across to work on the business that interested me more.
Opportunistic Thinking Is Bad
If you are like me and see that everything is possible and always keeping an open mind about business ideas, then you will find it irresistible to try new ideas. Trust me I’ve learnt the hard way. So how have I changed this? I’m a huge fan of Yaro Starak’s blog - entrepreneurs-journey.com and one day he wrote a post about his coach Rich Schefren who was launching a new coaching program. As usual most internet marketers have a system to launch their new products and give away a lot of free quality information that can be applied straight away. They do this so they can build rapport with you and show that their information is useful before they start their sales pitch on you. As I knew the information was free and they just wanted my email address, I downloaded Rich’s eBook, the “Internet Manifesto“. If you haven’t read it, I would recommend you get a copy of it immediately.
The Change in Mindset
After reading the “Internet Manifesto”, I had a profound moment that I would change the way I operate my business. My mindset went from “thinking opportunistic” to “thinking strategically” meaning if I wanted to build a long term business I would have to set up the right systems and hire staff to leverage my time. I realised that I couldn’t do everything myself. Rich’s famous flowchart accurately shows how most Solo Enterpreneurs run their Internet Businesseses today. (I’m one of them and have taken action to outsource a lot of my work since then)
Rich Schefren's Internet Manifesto
Since then I have taken action to sell my businesses that are not part of my goals and made a mental decision to not start new business opportunities.
Focus Is Key
Since I was compelled to find out more, I downloaded the rest of Rich’s series of books which are listed below:
1. Internet Manifesto
2. The Missing Chapter
3. The Final Chapter
4. Attention Age Doctrine Part 2
5. Maven Matrix Manifesto
6. The Entrepreneurial Emergency
Through this series I learned that I needed to focus on one task at a time, not five at a time (today’s generation calls it multi-tasking). Making that shift helped me improve time efficiency and also get tasks completed that generated more money. Additionally, you need to use your strengths to focus on a task and learn to outsource the rest that you are not good at. This is the key to long-term success in any business.
Tyrone Shum
Focus Strategist
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva.
Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
|
About the Author: Ernest Barbaric RSS for Ernest's articles - Visit Ernest's website Ernest Barbaric is a professional keynote speaker and social media consultant. He helps clients engage customers, reach new markets, launch products and transition into digital marketing. Sounds interesting? Get in touch today. Click here to visit Ernest's website Does Your Social Media Consultant GET IT Future of Social Media Digital Marketing Trends 2010 Buying Process Peanut Butter Manifesto Are you spreadable Herding Cats and Social Media ROI |
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