I recently listened to an interview with NASCAR Racing Super Star Jeff Gordon. The host, Riki Rachtman, asked Jeff a few questions on the show that really made me think.
During the interview, Riki asked Jeff, What is going on today with recruiting new NASCAR talent? How do you guys find new talent?
Jeff Gordon said, In the past the talent found us. After all, we are the top NASCAR team. However, times are changing and we have found a new way to find potential superstars before they realize it or before our competition finds them. I found a website subscription service www.livestream.com that sets up TV cameras at small racetracks all over the country. They broadcast the races over the Internet. Today, I spend a lot of my time watching these small track races online and looking for our next super star race car drivers.
Riki asked Jeff another great question, “Any other ways you are using technology to keep on top of your game?
Jeff Gordon replied, I do my own tweets. The technology is amazing. With wireless technology, my smart phone allows me to connect with my fans in a personal way. For example, when the controversy of a late season NASCAR Truck race incident between Kyle Bush and Ron Hornaday occurred, I reacted and shared my thoughts with my followers.
Listening to Jeff talk about how he uses technology to connect with people, brought three thoughts to mind:
- the Internet has changed how we communicate and connect,
- you must be willing to start or join the online conversation, and
- technology is an inexpensive marketing tool. (learn more)
The Internet has changed how we connect with people.
Connecting with people who have similar interests has never been easier. Through social media forums like Twitter, you can connect with people all over the world who would have otherwise never known you existed. Influencers use techno-tools to connect with others, lead discussions, and promote ideas for both business and personal reasons.
Jeff often tweets when he sees tattoos of fans who put the 24 number or his name on their body. He calls this the “ultimate fan commitment”. This is a prime example of a personal tweet that supports a business marketing campaign. It’s really that easy! By putting yourself out there, you allow the public to get to know you.
In these charts, you can see how these racecar drivers use Twitter to gain more fans and more attention. Note that not all of the top drivers have jumped on the social media bandwagon.
| Top 5 Points 2011
NASCAR Drivers |
Twitter
Followers |
Tweets |
| Tony Stewart | 44,549 | 1 |
| Carl Edwards | 15,539 | 0 |
| Kevin Harvick | 123,448 | 4970 |
| Brad Keselowski | 53,318 | 4789 |
| Jeff Gordon | 111,000 | 9037 |
| Jimmy Johnson | 113,310 | 3,900 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | 33,343 | 0 |
| Top 5 Influence Racecar Drivers* | Twitter
Followers |
Tweets |
| Danica Patrick | 435,571 | 1156 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 442,035 | 3914 |
| Travis Pastrona | 284,552 | 515 |
| Nelson Piquet | 231,364 | 5,555 |
| Kevin Harvick | 123,456 | 4,970 |
| Jeff Gordon | 111,139 | 9,037 |
| Kasey Kane | 102,518 | 1,972 |
|
As of Jan 1, 2012By Jeff Gluck Motorsports Editor www.sportsnation.com |
(*Based on current Klout Score (a cool tool to judge how much reach a person has with his network)
Do You know your KLOUT score?)
Evidence of the influence of social media can be seen from a short time ago at the 2012 Daytona 500 when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed his car into the jet dryer truck. The accident caused a huge fire on the track that stopped the race for two hours.
Brad Keselowski took advantage of the break in action. He pulled out his smart phone and took a few photos of other drivers standing on the track. Using technology he quickly posted information on Twitter about the incident from right there on the track. His Twitter follower number has jumped to 211,800+ after that night’s events! His Twitter went viral! His posts about the events informed existing fans, and even made him 100,000 or so new ones. The Internet has changed the way we connect with people, and has made it easier than ever to do so!
Promote yourself, it’s your responsibility!
At eight years old, Jeff had his own racing T-shirts printed up. He thought it was cool to see other kids wearing his race shirts at school. He was already learning the importance of initiating and managing a simple marketing strategy that would promote Jeff’s racing team, raise money, and turn Jeff into a NASCAR superstar. Even if you’re unsure of social media marketing, you can’t ignore it. It’s as simple as making your own T-shirts but vastly more potential reach.
Sports stars of the future begin their personal promotion using tools thousands of times more far-reaching than Jeff’s tee shirts. Just do a YouTube search for high school basketball star and see what I mean. And&your future competition is likely plotting their course to lawn and landscape riches using communication tools that cost next to nothing!
Start using technology to connect with your network.
From an American Express Open Small Business Survey, 67 percent of small business owners don’t know what they could or should be doing with social media marketing or as I prefer to call it, online marketing. This survey also reports small business owners are investing $1600 to $2500 per year on social media marketing.
Should business owners spend $1,600 to $2,500 on online marketing?( Learn more here. ) There is nothing to buy when a Facebook page is FREE, so is a YouTube channel and a Twitter account, and you pay ZERO for a LinkedIn page or LinkedIn group. Some may see online marketing as a passing fad. If it’s a waste of time, why are we doing it? Online marketing, through e-mail and social media, increases the frequency of and reduces the cost of your communication.
Get Started with Online Marketing
Here’s where to start. Improve your marketing and lower overhead by building your customer e-mail list. Rather than spend money on expensive ads, invest your energy, creativity, and time. As e-mail becomes the backbone of personal communication, you should realize your customers’ and prospects’ contact info, buying preferences, and their network of friends, family members, and business associates can unlock the keys to the bank.
Do you have an e-mail list? Have you used it to increase communications? Don’t wait for a day when you know how to do social media. Get started by answering your most frequent customer questions online with an e-newsletter. Your network wants to hear a how-to success story. They won’t get mad if you share tips for a gorgeous lawn. Just get started.
About the author. Tony Bass loves rock-n-roll, and NASCAR. He is the Founder and CEO of Super Lawn Technologies. He is the co-author of The E-Myth Landscape Contractor – (Purchase Online). Connect with Tony by calling 866-923-0027, tony@tonybassconsulting.com, @TonyBassSLT , connect with me on linked-in or facebook.
