I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that social media marketing, or trying to make sales through “the social media channel” is a beyond a waste of time… it is driving potential business away, never to return. And for everyone’s sanity, including my own, I still feel that way! This past weekend at BarCamp Memphis, I had the opportunity to have some extended discussions that included this very topic. One blog owner was very concerned about having any advertising on their site saying they had made a huge investment gaining the trust of their readership and didn’t want to risk that by selling ads. At the same time, there has to be a viable revenue model or many sites, including some pretty popular ones, will not be able to continue. Well, maybe there is a way…

While reading my way through the feed reader today, I came across a post at Rod Kirby’s Success Center entitled Has Social Media Marketing Changed the Online Sales Landscape? Rod is pretty good about throwing excellent questions out there and this one is no different. And it was while I was reading this post that a possible answer to the social trust / need for revenue delima came to me.

Don’t Hide It… Flaunt It
The metaphors are flooding in at the moment but lets see if I can get this right anyway. We become so concerned with “what will our audience thing” that we forget a pretty important fact… we can talk to them! One blogger that I know recently shared with his audience that he was struggling with revenue, to which he received several comments saying, “we never knew.”

One of the key elements in trust is transparency, which shows off the good and the bad. We usually try really hard to hid the bad when in fact a little more openness about what’s going on could go a long way! So if you have a revenue need, don’t tip-toe around it… put it out there.

“We’ve resisted selling ad space in the past because we value the trust you’ve put in us and don’t want to risk compromising that. The realities of this site however tell us daily we need income, and short of asking for donations, ads is the best way to create revenue.”

Who knows, your audience may be able to help… if they just know of your need.

Select Advertisers With Your Audience In Mind
When we finally do break down and start looking for advertising, we’ll often take whatever we can get. Instead of throwing up ads (or affiliate links!) for the first advertiser that will let you, be more selective. Be the gatekeeper for your audience.

You’ve obviously spent a great deal of time building the trust of your followers, that’s what got this conversation started. Just because you need revenue doesn’t mean you have to violate that trust. In fact, you should guard it even more closely. Choose ads and affiliate that add value to your audience. If you have a local site, deliver coupons to local retailers. If you’re a foodie, free recipes from advertisers (which feature their products of course) will work well. If you cater to the t-shirt and jeans crowd, hawk Busted Tees or make your own products with Zazzle! Whatever you choose, just be sure to do it with your audience in mind!

So Why Do I Think This Will Work
Well, simple actually. Because you’re not taking advantage of your network. The people who visit, that have put their trust in you do not want to be blindsided by spam email, spam posts, or spammy tweets. They follow your site for a reason and, presumably, they like it. If you’re honest with them and tell them why you take ads, most will understand, maybe even help out. If you honestly try to deliver quality products that fit with your audience, any backlash should be minimal and the revenue should start, maybe slowly, but it will start.

What Do You Think?
Ok, there it is… so tell me… am I full of it? Do you think this will work? As a patron of other blogs and sites, how would you react to this kind of development on your favorite web venue? Join the conversation in the comments below and let us know your perspective!

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As with Social Camp back in September, BarCamp was hosted by the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (MASE), a charter school in Memphis with lots going for it. You should really check out their website!

In what could best be called a lapse in planning on my part, I showed up Saturday morning bright and early, eager to present the two topics that were in the can. As it turned out, a couple of presenters couldn’t be there Saturday morning so I wound up leading a group for all three morning blocks. I’m pretty sure everything turned out ok… nobody got up and left during any of the three, that’s always a good sign.

After lunch and an… interesting …round of PowerPoint Karaoke, we enjoyed the large group session Igniting the Conversation: Community Blogging Forum featuring the operators of Nashvillest.com, BhamTerminal.com and MemphisConnect.com. They covered a wide variety of topics centering around the local blogging scene and sharing their own experiences in the space. It was Great!

But maybe the best part of the day for me came next. As other BarCampers were headed off to their next sessions, I had the opportunity to sit down with Morgan and Christy from Nashvillest, Elizabeth from MemphisConnect, Andre from bhamTerminal and others that floated in and out to chat. For the next hour and a half we talked about all kinds of things related to blogging, community, monetization… it was awesome! The new Link Economy at its best… and off-line to boot! This is exactly the kind of thing that makes BarCamps such an important event and can be the key to Making the Most from a Barcamp!

Huge thanks is due all the organizers from BarCamp Memphis, especially Dave Barger (@lalunablanca). Great job one and all! I’m already looking forward to the next trip I get to make up to Memphis… and the rumor I heard had something to do with TribeCamp?

Did You Go To BarCamp Memphis?
What was the best part for you? What would you like to see more (or less) of next time? Did you even know BarCamp Memphis was coming up? Lets hear about it in the comments!

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BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences (or unconferences) – open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. –wikipedia.org

So with BarCamp Memphis coming up, I thought it would be a great time to cover a few ideas for how to make the most of your time at this or any other BarCamp style meeting.

Decide On A Goal
What’s your goal for BarCamp? Do you want to meet new people and network? Do you want to learn about a new technology, programming language, or paradigm? Do you want to share some of what you have learned with others that may be interested in knowing?

Having an idea of your goal will help you choose and shape your day at BarCamp. Since the schedule at these things can be, shall we say, fluid… be flexible but stay on target. You will face the choice of two sessions you’d like to attend. Choose the one that best aligns with your goal. If you do that throughout the day, at the end you’ll be much more satisfied with your results!

Participate
Without a doubt, the single, easiest way to maximize your BarCamp experience is to participate! Listen to the presentations, ask questions, pick people’s brains. Throw your own ideas on the table during presentations. Challenge the thinking of the presenters and those around you with your perspective. By engaging in the conversation you invest more in the experience… and you’ll get far more from it. Oh, and don’t under-estimate the person sitting next to you in a session… you never know who they might be!

Meet New People
Even if your goal has nothing to do with networking or expanding your social circles, don’t spend the whole day with the folks you came with, or worse, by yourself! Put yourself out there, introduce yourself, strike up conversations in the hallways and meeting spaces. There will be TONS of talented, smart people there and they are there to share what they know (that’s kinda the point of BarCamp). But you will never know if you don’t talk to anyone.

And for those of you going to BarCamp Memphis this weekend, I’m going to challenge you one step farther. If you see someone sitting by themselves, not plugging in to the power of the group, reach out to them. Invite them to join you and your friends to eat lunch. Ask them their opinions during sessions and discussions. Go out of your way to include the folks that may otherwise miss out on one of the greatest parts of BarCamp! Don’t make me call you out!

Share
BarCamp is about sharing so it just makes sense that you should share, before, during, and after. A couple of ways you can share during the event are

• Live blog the sessions you attend, you’ll get great notes and folks who couldn’t attend will get the good stuff too
• Tweeting hot quotes and topics. Twitter is rampant at BarCamp… be prepared and be sure to use the hashtag!
• Snap pics with that iPhone and post to Flickr. Don’t keep all the good pics to yourself… share!

Follow Up
Sometimes, events like BarCamp can be a little like drinking from a fire hose. Its not really practical to think you can retain everything you hear. So come prepared to take notes about the sessions and about the people you meet. Yeah, I know, it sound hokey to take notes about people, but its ok. I won’t mind if you make notes about me… would you really mind if someone met you and thought enough about what you had to say to take notes? I didn’t think so.

Of course you can make it easy of folks by having a reasonable supply of calling cards available. DO NOT DEAL THEM LIKE YOU’RE PLAYING TEXAS HOLD ‘EM. No, try talking to people first instead. Hear what they have to say, engage in a conversation. Then, if they’re interested, they may ask for a card or you may offer… but them asking is ALWAYS better. BTW, the cards don’t have to be fancy… you don’t have to spend a ton of money getting them printed or making them perfect. Black letters on a white card that you print on your printer at home will do. Just be sure to include the keys: Name, email address, Twitter handle, blog URL. Everything else is gravy, nice is reasonable doses, deadly if too much.

Ok, there are a few tip and trick. Try them out. If you like them, leave a comment below and let us know how they worked for you. If you find a better way, leave that as well, because we’ll all be attending another BarCamp soon!

@jtrigsby

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One of the really cool things on my calendar recently was SocialCamp Memphis, a decidedly un-conference in the BarCamp tradition. Now, if you’ve been reading Life in the Internet even a short time, you’re gonna recognize that term from my ramblings about BarCamp Chattanooga. Well lets suffice it to say… I’m a big fan of the format!

In fact, it was BarCampChatt where I met Dave Barger (@lalunablanca), the driving force behind SocialCamp Memphis. (Thanks Dave, it was awesome!) But I can hear you out there asking now, “What is a social camp anyway?” Well, I’m glad you asked!

SocialCamp is about Social Media, Social Networking, and the community of people that use it

I had the distinct pleasure to start off the morning leading a discussion about the line that exists between our on-line and off-line personas. Wow, what a group! Its not unusual in a forum like that for the speaker to have to work at least a few points into the preso to get the questions and discussion flowing… well not with this bunch! I think I did a brief intro, setup the topic and asked a question. The rest of the hour the room was filled with lively, some may say “spirited” debate, discussion about rights and wrongs in the social space and all things in between. It was one of the easiest and most enjoyable conversations I’ve ever had! Thanks to all!

Leading the Conversation at Social Camp Memphis

It was more of the same during lunch as the conversation continued over plates of wonderful Memphis BBQ. Follow ups, meet ups, and debate make for a terrific side to some smoked sausage! And then it happened…

PowerPoint Karaoke
I know, it sound strange right. Well it was one of the highlights of the day to be sure. The basic premise is you have three contestants. Each has a 20 slide presentation to narrate with only a few seconds per slide. What’s the catch? Well, the contestants are seeing the slide with you, for the first time. If you’re quick on your feet and can rattle off for five minutes, this is definitely your game! Try it some time.

And then there was the afternoon… more and more and more!

Too Many To Thank
Coming out of something like SocialCamp Memphis, I kind of feel like I’ve spent the day drinking from a fire hose. There is just so much to take in… you take notes, record what you can, exchange business cards & twitter names, and hope you can absorb a fraction of what you’ve heard.

There are many spectacular sponsors worthy of thanks and praise. Rather than list them all here, I’ll point you over to the SocialCamp Memphis blog where they’re all named and linked.

Of course the organizers, you guys rock. Without you there would be no camp!

And one of the groups that is probably left out when its time to spread the love… the attendees. I know as one of the presenters, it was totally the other folks in the room that drove the conversation and gave back to me, I just happened to be in the front of the room facing the wrong way. If you have an opportunity to attend a camp meeting, I strongly encourage you to do so. The wealth of communal knowledge present in the group is hard to replicate and may never be in the same place at once again.

WordCamp Birmingham
So I’m taking some of my own advice. Vickie and I are headed down to Birmingham for the weekend to attend WordCamp Birmingham. I am totally stoked, can’t wait to get there, can’t wait to try and recap that one as well. If you’re at WordCamp Birmingham, track me down, I’d love to connect with you!

@jtrigsby

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There were lots of smart and interesting folks at BarCampChatt and one that I had the pleasure to meet and share a couple of sessions with is Dave Barger, aka @lalunablanca via Twitter. Dave is a wealth of knowledge on topics of social media and a driving force behind Social Camp Memphis.

Heck, I’ve even submitted a topic for a round table discussion (what am I… crazy?). Social Media: Transparency or Trespassing… hopefully it will be a thought provoking discussion about just how open we are or should be online and what, if any, exposure our online persona should have on our off-line lives. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Also, can’t get out of here without dropping a plug for WordCamp Birmingham coming up September 26 & 27. @acnatta and the crew are working hard to put on a great camp and I’m really looking forward to being there. And a special note to all you WordCamp Birmingham attendees… my wife Vickie is making her first tech meeting appearance… be sure to tell her hi, it will make her day!

@jtrigsby

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