Social Tech Helps Company Grow Globally

From my book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, The Rich Dad Co. (TRDC) hasexpanded into a comprehensive financial education and coaching business with aglobal audience of more than three million. We would not have achieved thissuccess without implementing new technology developments in social media, livestreaming of events and interactive games.

To compete in any industry, you need the latesttechnological advances and must challenge the status quo. With that in mind, Iassembled a team of top-notch developers and designers and let them go to work.My internal team of seven, headed up by Shane Caniglia, director of technology,and Robert LeCount, manager of Web development and data, coordinates a largerpool of outside talent.

Their first project was to create a new, content-richWebsite. LeCount describes the technology: ?We used Kentico CMS (farmed andload-balanced) as the content management system, the Microsoft SQL database(clustered) to store data and ensure constant availability, and HP servers forreliability. Completed in six months, the site included anewsletter-registration process we custom-developed, interactive forms tieddirectly into our email marketing system, PDF digital workbooks and an onlinecommunity forum provided as part of Kentico CMS.?

In addition, we assigned two team members to manage socialmedia channels, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs. Greg Arthur andShannon Crist, our social media specialists, review my posts and monitor socialmedia activity throughout the day.

Realizing the potential for sharing our financial educationprocesses online, my team used technology to publish Rich Dad?s Conspiracy ofthe Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money. This was the first book written completelyonline.

Caniglia details how I ?posted draft chapters and theninvited feedback, commentary and questions from readers worldwide via Websiteforums and blogs using Kentico CMS. This feedback was then incorporated intothe book as it was released, chapter by chapter, free on the Internet.? Today,I post updates for more than 150,000 registered readers.

We began looking at electronic publishing differently. InJune 2011, we presented the first live Kindle e-book-signing of UnfairAdvantage: The Power of Financial Education. And in October 2011, we providedlive e-book signatures of Midas Touch, the book I wrote with Donald Trump.

Caniglia explains how it worked: ?During the Facebooklive-streamed event, we captured signatures using Autodesk SketchBook Propainting and drawing software. Instead of waiting weeks to receive theirexclusive signed books online, buyers could purchase them in the iBookstorewithin 48 hours.?

 

Using Technology to Succeed

From these technology activities, our site traffic hasdoubled, and our social media audience has increased by more than 3,000percent. We also obtained significant publicity, which increased book sales andmentions on the top-seller lists. Also, a new audience learned about ourprograms and services related to financial education.

Through our live-streaming technology, we?ve deliveredcontent to more than 110 countries around the world. Participants can see andhear us in real time and interact with our team on a personal level.

Enhanced e-books, articles and archived videos are now partof our online library. We?ve surpassed a milestone of one million Cashflowgames played online, reaching beyond the physical board game on a global scale.

By listening to feedback, we?re able to provide ourcustomers with the products and information they want, in the way they want it.For example, we used technology to take our Cashflow board game online.

Caniglia describes the process: ?We built the CashflowFinancial Calculator app to make it easier to play our traditional Cashflowboard game. This included improved retina-display graphics, icons, stabilityand performance enhancements, support for iOS up to 5.0 and updated languagetranslations.?

When we realized that players around the globe wanted toconnect, we created the online version of the Cashflow game. Complete withcartoon characters, music, video tutorials and automatic calculations, theonline version makes it fun and easy for people of all ages to learn aboutfinances at any time and to play with anyone in the world.

?The technical work is intensive, but it?s been afascinating challenge taking The Rich Dad Company to a new level of technologyto reach a loyal global following,? Caniglia says.

These technology initiatives allow us to change andcommunicate quickly to meet the needs of our worldwide audience, exceed oursales goals and, most important, help more people get a financial education.After all, knowledge is the new money, and the way it?s delivered makes all thedifference.

 

Robert Kiyosaki is creator of the Cashflow board game,founder of the financial education-based The Rich Dad Co. and author of thepersonal finance book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Additional books include Rich Dad?sConspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money; Unfair Advantage: The Powerof Financial Education; and Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich?AndWhy Most Do Not.