If you’re like me, you’re getting dozens of new “friend” requests on Facebook every day.
At first, I quickly friended every random request, without even thinking about it. Then, I finally started being a bit more selective about who I let in…

Now, people on Facebook usually fall into a couple of different camps… You might be a quantity person, who has thousands of friends – or you might be a more discerning quality person, who carefully considers every friend request.

I guess I fall into the “quality” category. I’m not saying that there’s a right approach or a wrong approach – that’s a personal decision. But I don’t want to be known as a Facebook Ho! I’m not looking for a Facebook one-night-stand! Hey, that’s just me. I’m not gonna let just anyone into my Facebook family!

It’s one thing if you’re a mega-marketer or an author and you look at Facebook like another potential customer list or database. But for me, Facebook is not my “list.”
I’m not spamming these people or trying to sell them anything. I’m trying to build and develop a long-term relationship!

OK, so I don’t have 1,000 Facebook Friends yet. I’m pacing myself. I’m looking at each request. I’m being a little picky. So, if you want to take my slower, build-quality relationships over time approach, here are a few tips: These are the ten criteria I use to admit new friends into my Facebook family:

1. Do I know you? Should I know you?
2. Did you include a personal message in your friend request?
3. How many friends (if any) do we have in common?
4. Who are your friends? Are they people I know or respect?
5. Have you posted a photo and a decent profile? (Most people will want to see you)
6. Do you look like a spammer in disguise? Are you blatantly promoting a product?
7. What are you looking for? If it’s “hot chicks,” I’m not sure I want to friend you.
8. Did Facebook recommend you in the “People You May Know” box?
9. Did someone introduce us? (via Facebook or otherwise)
10. Do you look like you could be a psycho or a stalker?

Set up your own criteria, or what author Michael Port calls your “Red Velvet Rope” policy, and decide who to add as a friend. You may not have the biggest friend list, but the friends you have will be the right ones for you.

Oh, and if you want to friend me, just click over to: http://profile.to/loubortone/
If you’re reading this, chances are I’ll let you in!

Lou Bortone
Writing | Creative | Branding | Video
Helping service professionals and solopreneurs craft their messages, tell their stories and market their brands.

* Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach *

lou.bortone@gmail.com
866-648-1152 toll free
603-498-9254 mobile
Skype: loubortone
www.LouBortone.com

Here’s something really worth checking out! I’ll be there for sure!

Get the Media to Do Your Marketing For You

Visibility Expert Nancy Marmolejo has just announced her latest teleclass to help entrepreneurs position themselves as sought after, recognized experts.

Nancy enjoys a flurry of free PR and effortless marketing, now she’s ready to share that with others.

How to Get Free Publicity and Attact New Clients With the Power of Your Expertise, taking place April 1 and 8, will show business owners how to take what they know and turn it into a marketing strategy that will attract new clients and free publicity.

She created How to Get Free Publicity and Attract New Clients to meet the needs of people who want the information she teaches in a short time frame. (Nancy’s coaching program, Spotlight U, offers an intense 6 months of coaching and mentoring for a select group of entrepreneurs.)

Over 2 teleclass sessions, she’ll cover how to:

- Identify which of the 4 stages of expertise you’re currently in and how to quickly move into the “credibility spot” (without credibility, no one will listen to you)

- Learn over 29 quick and simple ways to become a recognized expert in your field (and how to quickly implement at least 1 in the next week.)

- Clearly understand the scope and value of your expertise so you can strategically use it to create products, form joint ventures, and open doors to bigger opportunities

- Discover how to create your own Visibility Blueprint with your best content topics and a timeline at your fingertips

- And much, much more.

Nancy is known for her creative, spirited style. Her teleseminars are always fun and informative, with plenty of opportunities for “spotlight coaching” , her version of the hot-seat.

Learn how to get the media to do your marketing for you by checking out the class now… remember space is limited and it is sure to fill. The class starts April 1, so act now!

http://www.profcs.com/app/?Clk=2324502

Hope to see you on the calls!

Lou

As Guerrilla Marketers, we are (or at least we should be) acutely aware of the lifetime value of a customer. We know that it costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than it does to sell to an existing customer. So what are the true costs of a lost customer? If you’ve lost a client due to poor customer service, you’ve not only lost that sale, but likely future sales from that customer. But the true costs go well beyond that one dissatisfied customer.

It used to be that if a customer had a bad experience, they’d tell a handful of people. Today, in the Internet age, that one customer’s wrath can go viral and spread like wildfire. The damage to the “offending” company can be devastating. Take the well-documented tale of “Dell Hell.” In case you hadn’t heard of that PR disaster, journalist and blogger Jeff Jarvis had some misfortune with a Dell laptop, and his experience was so bad that he blogged about it. Word of the Dell Hell incident mushroomed, and soon the Internet was littered with similar complaints vilifying Dell. The public outcry became so loud that it got the attention of CEO Michael Dell, who eventually sat down with Jarvis to try to make peace.

Although that particular story had a relatively happy ending, with Dell going on to address the complaints and become much more proactive in the area of customer service, you can only imagine the millions of dollars in lost sales due to the terrible press. One man’s bad experience – a single, lost customer – led to a firestorm of negative publicity and lost customers for Dell.

Next time you’re wondering what one customer is worth, think about Dell Hell and the true costs of an unhappy customer. It can mean the difference between a lifetime of ka-chings or a lifetime of disappearing dollars!

[tags]Lou Bortone, Online Branding Guy, branding, guerrilla marketing, customer service, CRM[/tags]

Everyone is telling me to get over it and move on but, for me…well, I have to find a lesson in everything. Super Sunday is over and will be soon forgotten, but the only thing that can take the sting out of this football fan’s disappointment is to find a way to learn something from it.

So, like 97.5 million other people (second most watched show in US TV history), I watched in disbelief as the New York Giants stunned my 18 – 0 New England Patriots. It’s being called the biggest upset in sports history. Records were supposed to be shattered, but the only things broken on Super Sunday were the hearts of loyal Pats fans.

What can marketers learn from this historic sports lesson? How can we apply this to our businesses and our brands? What are the “weapons” the Giants used that entrepreneurs can adapt? Here’s my take-away from the game:

1. It pays to be the underdog – Fly under the radar and you may surprise everyone!
2. There’s no such thing as a sure thing – Just ask the Vegas odds-makers and sportscasters.
3. Use “shock and awe” to overwhelm your competition – The Giants put incredible pressure on Tom Brady, sacking him five times. What can you do to shake up the marketplace?
4. Use your full arsenal of weapons – One of the pillars of Guerrilla Marketing philosophy is to use a variety of marketing weapons. Look how the Giants used every element of the game – passing, rushing, defense and more – to dominate.
5. Unleash a relentless attack – The Giants kept coming back at the Pats, again and again and again. Their never surrender attitude is an example you should use in your business.
6. Take a page from the competition’s playbook – On the final, winning drive of the game, the Giants looked like, well, the New England Patriots! What can you learn from your competitors?
7. A win is a win is a win – It doesn’t have to be pretty, and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Learn as you go, make adjustments, and find a way to win!

Marketers take heed! Past performance is no guarantee of future results, as they say in the stock market. You’ve got to bring your A-game every day. There’s always a way to outfox your competition, no matter how invincible they may seem.

Lou Bortone is an author and entrepreneur with extensive experience in marketing, branding and promotion. Before starting his own company, Lou was an award-winning marketing executive in the media industry. Lou served as National Promotion Manager for E! Entertainment Television, and later as Senior VP of Marketing and Advertising for Fox Family Worldwide, a division of Fox, in Los Angeles. Today, Lou helps entrepreneurs and solo professionals navigate their online businesses with services such as copywriting, video production and creative services. Visit his websites and blogs at www.LouBortone.com.

[tags]Lou Bortone, marketing, branding, Patriots, Giants, Superbowl, Super Sunday, branding[/tags]