Thanks for being curious enough to read this page.
I'm going to make some assumptions since you're here and my primary assumption is that you fall into one of two camps: you're either curious or considering. If you're simply curious, you may have seen something I wrote, heard me speak at a conference, or perhaps just stumbled upon the blog thanks to a link from someone else or a search result. Maybe, just maybe, you thought something along the lines of, "this guy's got some good stuff to say," and you want to know what else I do, and how I might be able to help you. If that's you, welcome. I hope you find something valuable here and get answers to any questions you have. If you're in the "considering" camp then I'll assume you're a little more familiar with me and want to see what I can do for you. If you're considering using Bill Seaver, or a MicroExplosion Media service, I hope you'll remain a considerer (I'm sure that's not a word but you get the point) until you become a client. If you don't find the answers you need here just contact me, and I'll get you taken care of.
So what do I do?
When people ask me what I do, I try to boil it down to this: social media marketing consulting and speaking. That's about as concise I know to make it but inevitably it leads to other questions, which I expect, so I hope I can answer some of them here for you. I also have a staff that provides a social media monitoring service. Clients of the service use it to keep track of what is said about them on blogs, image sites like Flickr, discussion boards, online video sites like YouTube, mainstream media sites, and microblogging platforms like Twitter. We provide reports daily, weekly, or semi-monthly that tell you how much conversation there is about you and your organization and provide a list of the most influential people talking about you so you know where to engage first. I review the reports and provide analysis and recommendations for your particular organization. If you want to give social media monitoring a shot (beyond Google Alerts) just contact me, and we'll provide you with a free report so you can see if it's something you want to use.
Consulting: Social Media Marketing Training Wheels
I look at my role as a consultant as training wheels on a bike (I'm the training wheels...you're the bike.) The thing about training wheels is that you don't keep them on the bike forever. You put them on knowing they're temporary. When the time is right the training wheels come off, and the cyclist rides without them. That's how I want people to see my consulting. I'm just there for a short time to be the social media training wheels for your marketing bicycle. When our time is done, you should be fully equipped to think like a social media marketer and use the tools effectively. I have been hired to do single day sessions and multi-month consultations. Some companies just want me to get them up to speed with the social media state of the union, while others want me to talk to them specifically about blogging or public relations in the current Internet environment. There's no cookie cutter answer I can give you for the right consulting format for you. It's more important that you know you need training wheels. Once you know you need training wheels, we'll figure out the ones that fit your bike best.
Speaking: Who Knew Social Media Could Be Inspiring Too?
I love speaking to groups about the value of social media marketing and giving real examples of how it's worked for me personally, my clients, and companies worldwide. Sometimes this is just the thing an organization needs to really start making forward progress. The greatest compliment I get from any organization that asks me to speak is when they call back later and invite me back for a future event. Fortunately that's happened several times, and I hope you'll feel the same way if I speak to your organization. Here are three speech topics I can customize to your organization's needs:
What the Heck is Social Media, Why Should I Care, and What Would I Do With It?
As possibly the longest single title of any presentation in the history of mankind, this presentation is an overview of the new media and the best way to make it work for you. It covers both the technology and the way to use the technology as a marketer. The biggest mistake people make when they want to start implementing social media tools is that they don't take the time to understand the best ways to use them. It's one thing to own a chainsaw. It's another thing entirely to know how to use it the right way. This presentation is about learning how to use the social media chainsaw well and keep your limbs in the process.
How To Be A Great Blogger
It's one thing to blog. It's another thing to really be a blogger. Once you actually become a blogger, you have a chance at being a great blogger. Sound complicated? Well, it's not. There's just a little more to it than you may have realized. Just because you put words in a blog doesn't mean you're a blogger. You might be a writer on a blog, but you're not a blogger. Bloggers understand the social media culture. They know the rules even though there isn't a rule book. This presentation is for anyone who's ready to be a great blogger.
PR 2.0: The Deer Have Guns Now
It used to be that public relations professionals, corporate communications, and marketing departments saw the public as a bunch of deer, and they were the hunters. Though that view was probably never accurate, it didn't stop that attitude from being widespread. Many of them still hold that view today, but they have a problem now. These "deer" have guns. While many PR pros and corporate folks weren't looking the Internet turned into an arms dealer and supplied the public with all the weapons. Social media tools are those guns, and the deer are using them all the time now. This presentation covers the way social media has changed the way organizations relate to the public. It's not enough to know what's being said about your organiation, it's also necessary to know how to engage people correctly using social media. If you don't know what you're doing, you might just shoot your eye out.