The fast lane - and living in it is now the norm – at least when it comes to the Internet.There are so many metaphors for the speed of life these days, it’s hard to deny that so much of life accelerates around us. Years ago on my first visit to New York, coming from Australia I met someone there who said “We don’t live in the fast lane here - we live in the laser lane!” And the pace of walking on Manhattan streets was so much faster – I liked it – mostly.Now my business is based on the marketing of knowledge, so much of which has an online component, and the same metaphors challenge us. Tom Biederbeck of STEP: Inside Design magazine says “Success on the web is determined by presence—presence that is immediate, immersive and seductive. The line between what works online and what doesn’t is measured in seconds.” More focus on speed.
The website visitor, blog reader, YouTube viewer, Google searcher, and everyone online make split second decisions whether to stay and explore - or move on (usually never to return). So the essence (think headline) of your knowledge piece must first be clear, simple, bold, and able to be perceived at first glance. Our brains have been trained to distill complex ideas to simple ones in this A.D.D. world of busy-ness and information overload.The challenge for knowledge marketers is to craft the simple distilled concept first – do the work for the customer or site visitor – so they don’t have to. Then you have the best chance of grabbing their attention and engaging them. Web 2.0 design trends exemplify this – larger, simpler graphics, icons, symbols and simple statements.
“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: Freedom. Justice. Honor. Duty. Mercy. Hope.”Winston Churchill
in branding we call this the ‘Singular Idea‘. I learned this laser beam focus from my colleague Jon Ward — we explore it in Branding for Profit. A brand that is built on a Singular Idea has a faster and easier road to success. Effective knowledge marketing is built on the same focus.
It seems the term ‘Web 2.0‘ is either enthusiastically advocated by consultants and web geeks - or is misunderstood as a mystery to be ignored. There’s nothing like jumping in and learning-by-doing.
Here’s an action list – or, get a pat on the back for ‘Yes, I do that!’ Create a scoreboard to expand your Web 2.0 horizons.
Read blogs – find some favorite blogs to follow (use Technorati to search for blogs)
Set up a blog (feed) reader to consolidate the blogs you’re interested in all in one easy to access place (see this post)
Post comments on other’s blogs (easy baby steps before having your own blog)
Set up your own personal blog (very short posts are fine)
Learn to upload a picture (eg to Flickr) or a video online (YouTube)
Find out about more than a vanilla Google search eg Google Labs
Use an online classified service like Craig’s List - buy or sell or promote something
Build your collection of Domain names - one for each new idea. Easy to search on GoDaddy.
Stretch the use of your mobile phone - for more than making phone calls (eg SMS)
With the rise in popularity of video on the web, more and more people are consuming massive amounts of ‘content’.
CNN Money article Dawn of the Web Potato reports that ‘web surfing’ is over - and that looking at content takes up 47% of the typical Internet user’s time online.
What are the lessons for knowledge marketers?
Know your niche - it is easy to find you.
Speak to your audience about what they are interested in (as my friend and colleague Jon Ward says: “the secret of marketing is simple: it’s not about you.”)
Find your voice (ahem - i still feel I have training wheels on).
Distill your message – in this A.D.D. world if you don’t make it simple your customer will do it for you - and it may not be what you want!
Think Video - and not just with a ‘movie’ camera - even Apple’s new software, Keynote (their answer to PowerPoint) has a direct export function to YouTube! Awesome for making a presentation with slides, moving images, audio, more.
Share about what your customers love and hate - and what they know and what they don’t
Beware the curse of assumption: “Oh they’ll already know that” or “They won’t be interested in those details.”
I spent the weekend with two inspiring women who are on a mission to share their knowledge and experience with women around the world. Christine Harvey and Liz Uible are founders of the organization Women for Wealth.
They have created a unique methodology that empowers women, tapping into their collective wisdom as they support each other with the power of a knowledge community. Knowledge + vision + spirit = marketing power.
So far they have reached women all over the US plus have some overseas members as well — and as part of their vision have initiated training and investing programs in Rwanda (where 46% of the members of parliament are women).
What better place to strategize an expanding vision, but inside the Washington DC ‘beltway’! There is something crazy/special about the energy here. Center of the empire?
When Trump University was launched, the challenge was to give reality to a learning environment that was primarily designed to be online. Enter The Wealth Builder’s Blueprint, the first flagship product for Trump U – to share the stage with Donald Trump.
This home study program has substantial ‘thud’ factor, plus the substance of a complete wealth building system to follow in Trump’s footsteps. But how could it stand out in the media frenzy of lights, cameras and journalists wanting a story straight from the Donald?
The ‘theme park’ was essential to convert the lobby into an environment that could capture the imagination and create a brand experience that left a lasting impression - not to mention the opportunity to profile the product around the world riding on the media’s coverage.
Essential ingredients for a knowledge theme park:
Create a color palette to set the stage for the brand (colored table cloths can work well)
Merchandise with multiple product samples (an old department store trick: stack them high – watch them fly!)
Display messages that inspire and evoke curiosity - an open mind is essential to get someone to take action
Build the browsing experience - create a mini fantasy adventure with lots to explore
Engage your audience with multiple senses
And now with the ever-increasing expectations for a complete online experience, these same principles can be applied in a website to create a virtual knowledge marketing theme park.
The fertile publishing field of marketing books has two recent additions that caught my eye - and provoked some serious thinking.The first, Chasing Cool, about standing out in today’s cluttered marketplace is a rigorous trawl through the market to distinguish what it takes to create an enduring brand as opposed to the fleeting buzz about what’s hot and what’s not.The secondYou, Inc., another Harry Beckwith classic to follow the powerful insights of his first three books is more than the sort of book you can consume just by standing in Borders and inhaling deeply —whichever page you turn to is an oracle of personal branding wisdom (eg Every great presentation motivates… and Don’t impress them; move them.)Seems there is always something more to say about branding!
When you bring knowledge to market in any form the function of design plays a critical role.
The role of design is important at all stages - here’s just a few design functions: information design (how can people embrace new ideas?), education design (how can people learn and act on new ideas?), graphic design (the visual interface that creates appeal and effective communication).
Good design is one of the fastest ways to get your point across in this information overload, A.D.D, world.
First seen at Logic + Emotion, here’s Stanford Grad student, David Ngo going beyond the designer’s dilemma with Design 101:
This remarkably simple presentation shows just how connections on the web are developing. Even though we are a few years down the RSS track – we’re still probably in the ‘early adopter’ phase.
I was fascinated to watch as the crowd grew larger around what seemed to be a simple ‘make-up-makeover’.
Then I figured it out - the makeup artist was generously sharing his knowledge about how he was creating the ultimate dream – so all the women who watched and asked questions could understand how they could live the dream too.
This Dior guy understood the power of Knowledge Marketing!
It’s good to be on the other side of a workshop experience, and two recent events I attended missed out on theming and opportunities to take participants into ‘another world’. Not the world of high-pressure sales, but one that builds on their heightened sense of what’s possible for themselves and their business.
The above picture is one example of how to change the dynamics of the participant buying experience. For Robert Kiyosaki and his Rich Dad Seminars we created a branded ‘theme park’, with most of the accessories being standard hotel supplies (it is always worthwhile getting a tour of the back store room!). It can be as simple as bringing your own colored table cloths – we used a purple theme for Rich Dad events – and creating some smart tiered displays plus display cards with interesting quotes from the speaker, presented on banner stands or easel-backed signs.
I find that ‘miracles of improvisation‘ are usually far better than excessive spending on all sorts of fancy display accessories. (Stay tuned for how to transform a generic pipe and drape trade show booth into a compelling and profitable destination!) Knowledge marketing has many faces .
CNN Money article 
So far they have reached women all over the US plus have some overseas members as well — and as part of their vision have initiated training and investing programs in Rwanda (where 46% of the members of parliament are women).
The first, 
I was fascinated to watch as the crowd grew larger around what seemed to be a simple ‘make-up-makeover’.
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