Anytime I’m TV surfing I realize I’ll always stop and view anything labeled “Navy Seals.” There’s just something about those guys that gets me excited. I decided to do a little research and here’s what I came up with.

7 lessons leaders can learn from Navy Seals.

1. Take Decisive Action: Build your company so that you can move quickly, regardless of the situation. You won’t have perfect information. You won’t make perfect decisions. But you can’t afford to delay and ponder. Being decisive and nailing the execution will make you effective in the long run.

2. Fear Nothing: Life is full of danger. You can spend your time worrying or you can build a team, plan an attack, and go to battle. Seals volunteer for missions few people would face. But that’s not because they’re reckless. It’s because they train constantly and know their team can handle it. Put together a solid team, a sensible plan, and work your ass off and you can beat the odds.

3. Seek Excellence, not Fame:How many athletes can you name? How many politicians? How many CEO’s? Probably quite a few. How about Navy Seals? Not so many. They devote everything to mission success, but don’t go looking for headlines. Leaders should do the same. Build a great product, a great company, and a great culture. Do these things and press will come, but headlines should be a side effect and not the goal.

4. Lock and Load: “Lock and Load” literally means preparing your weapon, but also represents a state of mind. Seals don’t know when they will be called on, but are ready to perform at a moment’s notice. As an entrepreneur, opportunities will come in weird situations and you won’t have advanced notice. So be prepared to give your elevator pitch or launch an immediate demo. A 30 second chance encounter can change your life, but only if you’re locked and loaded.

5. Leave no Man Behind: Teamwork is everything. But that doesn’t end at holding meetings and dividing tasks. You should be maniacal about defending your team. Cohesive teams are forged over months and years of going to war together. Showing loyalty to your team is one of the most powerful messages in business. Missions can fail. Features can fail. Products can fail. But your loyalty should never fail. Ever.

6. Plan Your Mission, but Prepare to Pivot: Seals plan carefully. They prepare for dozens of scenarios and pay attention to every detail. Yet unknowns will always happen. Their teams are agile, handle surprises, and make adjustments on the fly. Entrepreneurs need to prepare diligently. But it’s the combination of preparation and agility that turns a good team into a great company.

7. Make Peace with Constant Chaos: You don’t know where the land mines are. You don’t know what announcements will be released tomorrow. Your life is full of legal issues, product issues, service issues, sales issues, financing issues, recruiting issues, travel issues, etc. There are always 1,000 things to do and only time for 100. Yet that will never change. So you need to make peace with the idea of being around constant chaos. Break down your mission into components, define them, plan them, execute on them, and train yourself to be calm under fire. The ability to sit amidst chaos yet focus on the task at hand and execute well is the key to running a high-growth venture (and is SOP for a Seal mission). 

Swoop Info - Steven Nichols/ Business Insider

While social media has all the engagement buzz right now, the majority of studies are still dealing strictly with the B2C industry, so much so that there’s a serious question mark over the value of B2Bs utilizing SM streams at all.

Of course, LinkedIn has its place, but what do B2B services really need to concentrate on if they want to have a viable social media presence? In no particular order, let’s take a look at the value of social media from a B2B point of view.

1. Cut out the chat.

Businesses care about product and price just like B2C customers. Unlike B2C’s, they don’t want to be friends; they want to be colleagues who get on well, so forget the usual rules for Twitter or Facebook. You don’t need to “add personality”. You need to tell them in plain English what it is you offer, what it’s for and how it benefits their business model.

“So, that’ll be traditional marketing then?”

Well...not quite.

One of the best things about social media is its lack of tolerance for hyperbole. Think of your presence as a nice way to increase web traffic with a newsdesk function, but make sure you quickly step on any copy containing sentences like “seamlessly synergizes your multistream strategic presence”. Instead, go with “allows you to easily manage multiple accounts”.

In other words: SM cuts out the bulls**t.

2.Provide a great sales experience.

Whatever industry you’re in, one of the biggest consumer and business bugbears is poor customer service.

You can provide a great product, sell it at a competitive price and offer free service if something goes wrong. But I guarantee that if you don’t have a direct point of contact to facilitate that service, you’ll fail miserably. 

Social media is a great way to ensure that your teams know what is happening with each other, and to make sure the people you do business with can contact the right person directly. You can also quickly join up any gaps between sales and development by making sure your reps have a decent knowledge of your product.

This sounds like common sense (because it is), but there’s a difference between knowing all the features of a product and knowing when and how it’s useful, so utilise the training and internal communication possibilities SM streams provide.

3. Level of contact.

There’s a certain view in B2B that unlike individual customers, businesses don’t spend a lot of time hanging out on Facebook. They also get enough email as it is, so you need to be careful about what you tell them and when. Businesses generally want less communication from you, so don’t sign them up to a newsletter. Instead concentrate on genuinely meaningful interactions.

If you have lunch twice a year to discuss a specific project then you are accomplishing far more than blurting updates about version 12.6 of your latest widget. If they need it, they’ll ask. Any business that knows what its doing will also know when to ask for specialist help with complex issues.

This, of course, is ridiculous.

OK, so they do their own research, but where are they getting that data?

Your customers say they want ‘limited, meaningful interaction’ from you. But do you honestly think they’ll ignore free advice or a one-up on the competition?

Follow the SM rulebook: participate and contribute extra value. Use SM to raise your company’s profile and respect levels. Of course you should have guidelines in place, but it’s far more useful to have an engagement rate based on your actual usefulness as a supplier rather than strictly dictated by a calendar.

You can also balance your customer interaction in the B2B market by researching your clients and keeping detailed reports. Conduct regualar appraisals of previous clients and think about their stated needs, and see if you genuinely think their actual requirements have changed.

If you have a strong case then contact them, make sure you have a clear and consistent strategy for outreach based on needs and your own potential for continued business/profit.

If you feel you have a genuine service to offer an existing or potential customer, doesn’t it make more sense to send them a tentative tweet rather than wait 3 months for the next scheduled meeting?

4. Regulating an unlimited buying cycle.

In the data age there’s no such thing as a seasonal buying cycle, so allowing potential clients multiple points of contact is always a good idea.

Your clients will be determining their own contact times, and they’ll already have done their own research. They come across a problem and decide on the tools they need to tackle it before they contact you, and when they do they don’t necessarily require your sales spiel.

They want singular pieces of product information so that they can utilize it for specific reasons. Fortunately that’s information you can provide quickly and easily via SM by detailing upgrades, modifications, and new services.

You’ll remove the need for customers to constantly visit your main site and dispense with the need to send out overlong email reminders.

5. Opinion monitoring

Recommendations from independent online services carry a lot of heft with buyers, certainly more so than information directly from you, so having an outreach team for social media is invaluable.

By creating a regular buzz report and becoming more active on forums, you can engage and create a lot of positive commentary around your service, exactly as B2C’s have done.

While the tone of voice you use may be different, ultimately social media has the potential to bridge the gaps between B2C and B2B marketing, creating better value from pooled research, and as such B2Bs ignore or under-utilize the medium at their peril.

OPV Staff & Econsultancy.com

Here are a few photos of us on site for GE Energy. Thanks to our interns, Tony and Rachel!

So at your 50th anniversary you can break out the video or when you want to relive the time your husband wanted to learn to skateboard! It also may be time to look into a new camcorder. With the advances in technology such as Blue-Ray, HD, and the full spectrum of futuristic TV’s available not to mention iPads, Mac’s and great movie maker programs you may want a camcorder that will make full use of the gizmo’s, gadgets and toys available!

Most of us know that Digital Video (DV) is the ideal when it comes to camcorders. Especially if you want to edit the video on your laptop and place it on video sharing sites like You Tube ! Steven Spielberg eat your heart out ! The quality of digital video is what makes it so fantastic. As with most technology the advances are coming faster than we can keep track of and as an educated consumer you don’t want to purchase something that will be completely obsolete in a few years, you’re going to want something that you can use well into the future. While we know that it will one day become obsolete, it’s time to let go of the 8-track tapes if you have any left, obsolete does not have to be next week!

Let’s start with some tips to start your search for the perfect camcorder for you:

• Buy the best image quality you can afford  
• Capture in a widely supported format  
• Use a long-term storage medium  
• Hefty Hefty Hefty! - Pay close attention to weight, size and the controls – make sure they are comfortable for you and for anyone else who will be shooting video. Be sure the controls are located in an easily accessible area and are comfortable for you to use. Experiment with the on screen control menu. Does it make sense and is it easy to use? Or will you need your spouse to hold that pose for 10-20 minutes while you try to find the option you want?  
• I SEE YOU! - The viewer is important as well. Look for glare, excessive glare will make outdoor use frustrating. Many LCD’s look fantastic in indoor lighting, sunlight will effect this so take it outside on a bright day before you buy it and see how it performs (in case you have a beach vacation planned !) The bigger and brighter the screen is the easier it will be for you to focus and use.  
• Lights Please! - Lighting is vital. If you have ever watched a documentary on how a movie was made you will hear them say “we are losing our lighting !” then everyone rushes. Good reason for this. We touched on bright sunlight but let’s keep in mind we may want to capture the first marshmallow toasting of the year also ! Low light can produce poor images. There are settings on many camcorders that will take low light this into account, but may not be easy to find or use. Look for them and make sure you know what they are and how to use them to your full advantage.  
• What ! What! I can’t hear you! - Yep, you got it. Sound. Very important. A camcorder with a front mounted microphone tends to produce better sound quality than one with a top mounted microphone (unless you are really short and will be recording tall people all the time) An external mike is best and there are jacks that can accompany them for ease of use.  
• Zoom Zoom! - The optical zoom is something you will want to have some knowledge of. The higher the numbers the closer you will be when something good happens ! Digital zoom reduces the resolution of the image so be aware of the type of zoom the camera has.  
• Joe Hold Still! - You want a stable picture, no Blair Witch projects for you, so don’t forget about picture stabilization.  
• TAKE 2- If you are planning on editing your video on your laptop please make sure the camcorder you buy has the appropriate connection capabilities. Most come with a USB jack or FireWire but always double check.

The Big Question: HDV or AVC HD (WHAT ?????????!!!!!!!!)

We will keep this simple. You want to dazzle your friends, family, neighbors, your dog sparky and anyone who will hold still with your cinematography skills. Who wouldn’t! Plus you have that 82in top of the line HD TV with all the bells and whistles you can show your box office smash on. Let’s to break out the popcorn and start selling tickets!

And in This Corner The New Comer:AVCHD:

• AVC HD – (Advanced Video Codec High Definition- you can wow your friends with your lingo) is the new kid on the block and is maturing rapidly. It’s in the pre-teen stage. You can record to DVD, flash memory or hard disk in this format
• Efficient compression – if you want to hand onto your videos and we all do, this allows you to use less space per minute of video.
• Random Access Media- no need to hit fast forward or rewind on the tapes
• Drag it and Drop it (Not the camcorder, they are not made of Kevlar) allows you to take files and drag and drop transfer them from your camera to computer much faster than the HDV does. As your producer will tell you….time is money people!
• Blue-ray all the Way- no need to re-encode the AVCHD to get it to play on the shiny Blue-ray player you have with your 82 in HD TV. Convenience is key. This is called MPEG-4 compression for all you video geeks (and for those of you who are fans of “The Lingo”) HDV- Not Down For the Count ! HDV is still a smart consumer choice. Many of the HDV camcorders retain better image quality. Remember the AVCHD is still a newbie and has a lot to offer but still has some advances to make. It’s making them fast though. • HDV uses the MiniDV cassettes and the original standard-definition DV format.
• If you get a Pro-HDV recorder you will be up there with the big boys. It’s what they use to produce TV with still.
• The idea of tapes is old fashioned for some but convenient in that they are easy to transfer to and from. It’s great for long term storage. If you can remember what drawer you put them in. Very low cost. AVCHD would necessitate that you store vide on optical disc or back up the vide to a hard drive. I don’t know if many wives want to tote around a hard drive on vacation but you can ask.
• Movie Maker- the AVCHD would need to be converted to a format windows movie maker can handle. If you want the full 1080p that your 82 in TV offers then you want a bit rate of 24 mbps, many camera’s have between 15-17 so shoot for as high as you can get. AVCHD doesn’t offer the true 1080 p your HDTV allows for. 

So we have some basics. Basics are good. Next installment of “Lights, Camera, Action” is what camcorders are out there. Keep in mind…always do your research. That is why we have Google, consumer reports, PC World, and the internet. Go to the store, touch the equipment, ask to see it in use outdoors in sunlight, talk to the pros. Knowledge is power.

Oh !!!! By the way …if you want a free MinoHD Camcorder I know how you can get one ! OPV has a logo contest going on. Check out the FB TAB labeled CONTEST. You design a logo for us, you enter it, it gets voted on, it gets picked, you become a rock star logo designer known for your creativity and not only do you get to brag about your talent and vision but you get a MinoFLip HD camcorder. Good deal huh !

Customer Reference Videos

1. Video Customer Testimonials (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
2. Video Success Stories (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
3. Video Case Study (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
4. Man-in-the-street Interviews(Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
5. Customer Presentations. (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Low)

Product and Service Promotions

6. Product Presentations (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
7. Product Demonstrations (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
8. Product Reviews (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
9. Visual Stories(Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)

Corporate Videos

10. Corporate Overview (Popularity: High | Growth Potential: moderate)
11. Executive Presentations (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
12. Staff Presentations (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
13. Corporate facilities or equipment tour (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Low)

Training and Support Videos

14. Training (Popularity: High | Growth Potential: High)
15. Overnight expert videos (Sales Support) (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
16. Just-in-time learning(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)
17. Post sale support and maintenance videos (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)

Internal Communications Videos

18. Internal Communications (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
19. Event/Conference and Trade Show Communications.(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
20. Employee orientation (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
21. Health, Legal & Safety (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)

Advertising , Marketing and Promotion

22. Commercials (Popularity: High | Growth Potential: High)
23. Viral Video (Popularity: High | Growth Potential: High)
24. Email Video(Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)
25. Infomercials(Popularity: High | Growth Potential: Moderate)
26. Content Marketing(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Huge)
27. Landing pages and micro sites (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: High)

PR Support and Community Relations

28. Video Press Releases (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)
29. PR Support Materials(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
30. Community Relations Video (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)

Event Video

31. Event Presentation video(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)
32. Round table Sessions (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)
33. Q&A Expert sessions. (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)

Other Uses of Video

34. Recruitment Videos (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
35. VLOG (Popularity: Moderate | Growth Potential: Low)
36. In Store Video(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: High)
37. Company Lobby / Waiting Room Video (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
38. Mobile Video (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Huge)
39. Market research, focus groups and polling (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
40. Website FAQ Video(Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Moderate)
41. Video White paper (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Low)
42. Video Magazine (Popularity: Low | Growth Potential: Low)

Please watch the latest video about the Kids talking Wall.

The latest YouTube sensation is this wedding video from a couple in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson wanted to do something different for their wedding procession and boy did they succeed. Almost 10 million people have viewed their wedding video in the past week and almost 45,000 people have commented on the video. Kevin and Jill appeared on the Today Show and the entire wedding party re-enacted the procession on live television. Take a look at the video now and you’ll see why this is one of the most popular videos on YouTube right now.

When you watch this video you can see why it’s spreading like wildfire across the internet. Here’s why it’s the hottest viral video on YouTube this week.

1. It’s totally unexpected. The ushers are standing patiently at the end of the aisle waiting for the ceremony t0 begin and while the crowd is anticipating the arrival of the bride.

2. The music begins and the ushers break out into a dance. The crowd instantly joins in the fun wondering what’s going to happen next.

3. The bridesmaids join in the fun making up their own dance down the aisle.

4. The groom busts through the pack of ushers and bridesmaids and somersault down the aisle.

5. The bride boogies down the aisle to the delight of the crowd.

Everyone is genuinely having fun. The wedding party practiced a little before the event but most of it is improvisational. The crazy dancing totally surprised the crowd and they totally embraced it wanting more. Many even joined in the dancing. There’s no acting in this video – it’s totally authentic.

If you want to create a viral web video then you have to make it fun and real. Surpise your viewers by doing something totally unexpected and entertain them. Be authentic and don’t try to sell anything in your web videos. The best way to turn people off is to try to sell them something because we see enough commercials when we watch televsion.

Make some web videos and send me the links so I can post them on my blog. Have some fun and make a name for yourself!

1. Creators creates DIALOG, generate information, publishes blogs, maintain websites, or upload self-created photos, podcasts or videos on social sites (like Flickr or YouTube). This is where you want to be to network your business.

2. Critics - post ratings and reviews of products and services on user review sites (like Amazon), comment on someone else’s blogs or contribute to online forums or wikis (like Wikipedia).

3. Collectors create metadata that’s shared with the entire community. In other words, you like to bookmark sites, use RSS feeds by aggregating them in a feed reader (like Bloglines), saving or tagging URLs on a social bookmarking service (like del.cio.us), or by voting for websites on a social voting site (like Digg).

4. Joiners visit and maintain profiles on social networking sites (like MySpace or Facebook).

5. Spectators read blogs, online forums and customer ratings / reviews, listen to podcasts and watch peer-generated video.

6. Inactives do not participate at all in social media activities.You better not be caught here!

1. Fill out your profile completely to earn trust.
2. Establish a business account if you don’t already have one.
3. Stay out of trouble by reading the Facebook rules regarding business accounts.
4. Install appropriate applications to integrate feeds from your blog and other social media accounts into your Facebook profile. (Although you should be careful before integrating your Twitter feed into your Faceboook profile, as a stream of tweets can seem overwhelming to your contacts.)
5. Keep any personal parts of your profile private through Settings.
6. Create friends lists such as “Work,” “Family” and “Limited Profile” for finer-grained control over your profile privacy.
7. Post a professional or business casual photos of yourself to reinforce your brand.
8. Limit business contacts’ access to personal photos.
9. Post your newsletter subscription information and archives somewhere in your profile.

Connect and share with others

10. Obtain a Facebook vanity URL so that people can find you easily.
11. Add your Facebok URL to your email signature and any marketing collateral (business cards, etc.) so prospects can learn more about you.
12. Post business updates on your wall. Focus on business activities, such as “Working with ABC Company on web site redesign.”
13. Share useful articles and links to presentation and valuable resources that interest customers and prospects on your wall, to establish credibility.
14. Combine Facebook with other social media tools like Twitter. For example, when someone asks question on Twitter, you can respond in detail in a blog post and link to it from Facebook.
15. Before traveling, check contacts locations so you can meet with those in the city where you’re heading.
16. Research prospects before meeting or contacting them.
17. Upload your contacts from your email client to find more connections.
18. Use Find Friends for suggestions of other people you may know to expand your network even further.
19. Look for mutual contacts on your contacts’ friends lists.
20. Find experts in your field and invite them as a guest blogger on your blog or speaker at your event.
21. Market your products by posting discounts and package deals.
22. Share survey or research data to gain credibility.
23. Use Facebook Connect to add social networking features to your web site.
24. Suggest Friends to clients and colleagues — by helping them, you establish trust.
25. Buy Facebook ads to target your exact audience.
26. Read up on Facebook Beacon to see if it might be useful for you.

Use Network, Group and Fan Pages

27. Start a group or fan page for product, brand or business. Unless you or your business is already a household name, a group is usually the better choice.
28. Add basic information to the group or fan page such as links to company site, newsletter subscription information and newsletter archives.
29. Post upcoming events including webinars, conferences and other programs where you or someone from your company will be present.
30. Update your group or fan page on a regular basis with helpful information and answers to questions.
31. Join network, industry and alumni groups related to your business.
32. Use search to find groups and fan pages related to your business by industry, location and career.

Provided by WebWorkDaily.com