Joseph K. Marshall, Jr., salesman at Lufkin Trailers in San Antonio, TX, ca.1965.
Developing Relationships
Growing up, I had the privilege of watching my father conduct business. However, to say it was business sounds so clinical and not really accurate because my father at times made the business aspect seem like a byproduct of what he was really doing ~ developing relationships.
He developed strong relationships with his vendors. He developed strong relationships with his customers. He developed strong relationships with his employees. He knew their first and last names. He knew their spouses names. He knew where they'd been and where they were planning to go. He sat down, listened to them, and cared.
And it seems that because he was so adept at developing relationships with those folks he came into contact with, the business, whatever it was, usually followed. I'm not implying that everything ran smoothly because it didn't, even with the relationships. It's just that it seems he created a community of sorts wherever he went.
And what does developing relationships have to do with blogging genealogy? Well, goodness, everything. Blogging is a tool from the tool box known as "social media". And while the term social media is a very overused term, it's just online marketing. Remember the old community chambers of commerce? That's similar to what social media is when it's being used effectively, except it's open 24/7 and available in every conceivable place there's an internet connection or cell service around the world. Meetings still occur, but they look a little different because people are hanging out now in front of a webcam. Coffee isn't served, but everyone's enjoying a cup of their favorite java or tea. Birthdays are observed not with cake but exclamation points and emoticons.
Blogs provide a necessary online presence where content is fresh, community is grown, and relationships are developed. Then, well, your business ~ be it finding cousins, finding members, or finding clients ~ will usually follow.
So welcome to BloggingGenealogy.com, where we're going to create a community of people learning how to develop relationships through social media, especially through blogging genealogy effectively.
[And I wish my Dad was still around. He totally would've rocked this blogging and genealogy stuff. =) ]
Subscribe to blog updates below to make sure you don't miss a thing.
And the winner of Dear Myrtle's Blogging for Beginners and More Blogging for Beginners webinar-on-CDs from Legacy Family Tree Webinars is...
Kathleen Brandt of the blog a3Genealogy!!!! Be sure to go over to Kathleen's blog and congratulate her.
Congrats! To claim your prize, please contact me through my contact form indicating your mailing address. Thanks! =)
~Caroline
Disclosure Notice: I am an affiliate of Legacy Family Tree. This means that if you click on a link or an image with a link for Legacy Family Tree, you will be taken to their website where you may purchase something from their online store. If you do purchase from their online store, then I will receive a small referral commission for sending you there and recommending them. Whether you buy or don't buy is up to you. As a Geneablogger member, I received a collection of 10 webinar-on-CDs at SCGS 2011's Jamboree from Legacy Family Tree Webinars to either use personally or to use as giveaways, and these 2 CD's that I'm giving away are from that collection.
Growing up, I had the privilege of watching my father conduct business. However, to say it was business sounds so clinical and not really accurate because my father at times made the business aspect seem like a byproduct of what he was really doing ~ developing relationships.
He developed strong relationships with his vendors. He developed strong relationships with his customers. He developed strong relationships with his employees. He knew their first and last names. He knew their spouses names. He knew where they'd been and where they were planning to go. He sat down, listened to them, and cared.
And it seems that because he was so adept at developing relationships with those folks he came into contact with, the business, whatever it was, usually followed. I'm not implying that everything ran smoothly because it didn't, even with the relationships. It's just that it seems he created a community of sorts wherever he went.
And what does developing relationships have to do with blogging genealogy? Well, goodness, everything. Blogging is a tool from the tool box known as "social media". And while the term social media is a very overused term, it's just online marketing. Remember the old community chambers of commerce? That's similar to what social media is when it's being used effectively, except it's open 24/7 and available in every conceivable place there's an internet connection or cell service around the world. Meetings still occur, but they look a little different because people are hanging out now in front of a webcam. Coffee isn't served, but everyone's enjoying a cup of their favorite java or tea. Birthdays are observed not with cake but exclamation points and emoticons.
Blogs provide a necessary online presence where content is fresh, community is grown, and relationships are developed. Then, well, your business ~ be it finding cousins, finding members, or finding clients ~ will usually follow.
So welcome to BloggingGenealogy.com, where we're going to create a community of people learning how to develop relationships through social media, especially through blogging genealogy effectively.
[And I wish my Dad was still around. He totally would've rocked this blogging and genealogy stuff. =) ]
Subscribe to blog updates below to make sure you don't miss a thing.
And the winner of Dear Myrtle's Blogging for Beginners and More Blogging for Beginners webinar-on-CDs from Legacy Family Tree Webinars is...
Kathleen Brandt of the blog a3Genealogy!!!! Be sure to go over to Kathleen's blog and congratulate her.
Congrats! To claim your prize, please contact me through my contact form indicating your mailing address. Thanks! =)
~Caroline
Disclosure Notice: I am an affiliate of Legacy Family Tree. This means that if you click on a link or an image with a link for Legacy Family Tree, you will be taken to their website where you may purchase something from their online store. If you do purchase from their online store, then I will receive a small referral commission for sending you there and recommending them. Whether you buy or don't buy is up to you. As a Geneablogger member, I received a collection of 10 webinar-on-CDs at SCGS 2011's Jamboree from Legacy Family Tree Webinars to either use personally or to use as giveaways, and these 2 CD's that I'm giving away are from that collection.
Please feel free to share this post with anyone below by using the various share buttons. [Think of this post as a Chamber of Commerce brochure. If you'd gone to a great meeting at the local chamber and the coffee was good, you'd grab some brochures and pass them out, right?]
