15 Days of Marketing Day Ten: Find Your Awesome Allies

I am very grateful to be involved with the campaigns and projects I am currently working on today.  But let’s get real.  There is no way in H-E- double toothpicks I could’ve accomplished this on my own.   What it really comes down to is yes, hard work is required to achieve success.  However, I’ll venture to say that your level of success directly correlates to the strength of your allies as well.

I’ve got my “offline” allies: my husband, my family, my friends (even though a lot of them don’t really understand what I “do” per se).  For today’s post in the series however, I am going to talk about your support network online or what I like to call your Awesome Allies.

If you’re new to the interwebs scene, you’re probably still feeling your way around social media.  The good news?  Even if some of us have been using social media for a longer time, we’re still feeling our way around too.  Social media is a channel that is forever changing.  If you liken it to game, it’s one where rules don’t apply to everyone, the strategy to win is never consistent, and some days you’re stuck in jail while you watch others pass Go and collect their proverbial $200…over and over again.

This is what I love about marketing and the social media I often use to execute campaigns.  It’s exciting, it’s full of surprises, and it’s flexible.  It’s also freakin’ scary.  Scary indeed.

This is why we all need to surround ourselves with our own Awesome Allies.

What can Awesome Allies offer eachother?

• Brainstorming sessions, testing out ideas before putting them in front of the general public.
• Venting your frustrations and then regrouping to make a plan of action.
• Promoting each other: Digging, Stumbling, Tweeting, Blogging - Sharing the Love.
• Networking.  Making introductions to eachother’s contacts, and as a result, strengthening both your networks.
• Asking advice.  This goes both ways, your strengths and weaknesses will ideally complement one another.

As you build your alliances, you’ll find youself talking to a few of them on the phone, connecting through instant messenger, and likely meeting face to face.  I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of those people I consider my allies face to face and I can’t even begin to tell you how powerful that is.

There are two different types of allies:

• Mentor.  This ally is established and successful already and sees your potential.  Wants to help you grow and reach your goals.  So what can you do to give back?  Promote them within your circle.  Offer to help them with a project so that you can have a learning experience.
• Peer.  This ally is at about the same level as you are in your career.  You don’t necessarily have to share the same niche with this person but the two niches should be complementary so cross-marketing is seamless.  You will bring each other up when the other is down and both get further than you would have ever gotten alone.

I am willing to bet you already have a few Awesome Allies.  If you do, what can you do to make them stronger and see more results?

YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Find some allies.  Look through the comments sections of prior posts in these series and reach out to those that look like they’d click.  Or alternatively you could tweet on Twitter that you’re looking for an Awesome Ally, your niche, and what kind of ally you need, mentor or peer.  Make sure you include “#15days” on your tweet so that you can be found by others looking.  Use Summize to search “#15days” to find other people looking for Awesome Allies.  If you already have Awesome Allies, take the time to reach out to each other to talk about what you’d like to accomplish and how you can help each other achieve those goals.  Please leave a comment here about your experience.

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