At this holiday season we are encouraged to look beyond face value to the heart of the people who may touch our lives .. directly or indirectly. "Looks" of nonprofits may also be deceiving at first glance.
For the first time we are opening Diva Marketing's Holiday For Small Nonprofits Series to a couple of special programs offered by larger nonprofits. These initiatives often have unique budgets and dedicated staff .. much the same as smaller nonprofits.
This story is told by John Pollock who manages this unique program. As Jennifer Pelton, Director of Development, proudly told me, "John brings strong leadership -- and helpful tools -- to the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (NCCRC.)"
John Pollock - This Coalition seeks to address a severe justice gap in this country. People who can afford private counsel will hire a lawyer when something critically important to them – such as their home or the custody of their children – is at stake. Too many people do not have that choice. In what is a surprise to many, the right to a lawyer (in civil cases) is not guaranteed.
Private counsel is unaffordable and civil legal services (or other “free”) counsel meets only 20 percent of the need. Further compounding the problem, all too often,indigent litigants face an opponent who does have a lawyer. This justice gap especially hurts families of color, families headed by women, children and the elderly.
In 2004, attorneys and advocates from around the nation created the NCCRC to expand recognition and implementation of a right to counsel in civil cases. The Coalition is led by the Public Justice Center, a legal advocacy organization based in Maryland. As the coordinator, I oversee services to coalition participants by providing advice, information, testimony and other support. I also managed a vast amount of information through a newly created wiki and bibliography.
Judge Annette Marie Rizzo talks about civil rights to counsel in foreclosure cases.
One of the major problems faced by the Coalition was its lack of an easy way to share its massive research and case-related resources with all 200+ participants in an organized fashion, particularly given the wide levels of familiarity with technology within the Coalition.
Additionally, because of the lack of organization and the fact that few knew the full extent of documents in existence, key resources would go unutilized and reinvention of the wheel (with respect to repeating existing research) was not uncommon.
Social Media Lessons and Challenges
The Coalition chose a product called PBWorks which was obtained at a very steep discount thanks to the generosity of the PBWorks company. I established the wiki and stored the documents in an organized system, then used web-conferencing software to train coalition participants on how to access and navigate the wiki.
In addition to ensuring that Coalition participants could remain aware of all of the Coalition's resources, the wiki has solved other problems as well. In the past, when documents to be shared were emailed, Coalition participants that joined the Coalition later on would not have access to such documents without combing through the email archives.
Now, both new and old participants need only visit the wiki to see a complete picture of the Coalition's resources. Also, the wiki provides a weekly summary to all Coalition participants about all documents on the wiki that have changed, thus allowing them to know if Coalition staff upload newer versions of memos, case briefs, or other important documents. Finally, the wiki provides one centralized location for the entire memory store of the Coalition. For all of these reasons, the wiki has empowered advocates in the various states to benefit from the collective wisdom and work of the Coalition.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Recently Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) made a faux pas on Twitter. He then said in his blog that he felt Twitter had gone from a “communication platform” to a “mass publishing platform. “ He’s now turned the management of his stream over to his agency as a “secondary editorial measure.”
Two questions Brian: One - do you feel that social networks in general have gone from a way to talk to directly to customers or have they become just another mass market communication channel?
And two - what would you have advised Ashton to do?
Brian Solis: This is difficult to answer. Ashton is a friend of mine and honestly, it’s not my place to comment on his experience. If he asked, my advice to him would be between us. However, I don’t want to let you or your readers down, so allow me to answer it another way.
With social media comes great responsibility.
Regardless of the size of our networks, each of carries a duty to engage with purpose, transparency, authenticity, and above all, respect. We are defined by what we say, share, and at times, what we don’t say.
Essentially, we create a digital representation of who we are and what we value. In the end, what people think, how people value our connections, and how people interact with us is reflective of our investment. Or said another way, we reap what we sow and cultivate.
The challenge is of course, that this is all so new, that we’re learning as we go. We’re, as everyday people and celebrities, not conditioned for living in public without filters or handlers.
To answer your first question, people are becoming full-fledged media networks and that’s why this moment is so special and alarming at the same time.
As media networks, and as novices really in the world of catering to extensive networks, it’s tempting to approach social media with a traditional mentality. Producing and publishing content in social networks isn’t necessary social media…in fact, bringing a one-to-many broadcast methodology to social is quite anti-social to say the least.
We are responsible for what we create and share. But we are also challenged to do more than just create content. Anyone can do that now, so what makes you different? It’s also another thing to create consumable content. Again, anyone versed in traditional media can do that.
Now, we’re presented with a tremendous opportunity to produce consumable, shareable and actionable media. Those that master this will be rewarded with time, attention, and loyalty for the long term…and that’s priceless.
Marketing/Toby: Your book is filled with wonderful quotes. This is one of my favorites, “… brands must figuratively wear their hearts on their sleeves to best connect with customers.” (p 170) Would you speak a little of what that means to you?
Brian Solis: There’s an old saying, “don’t take it personally, this is just business.” Now, the opposite of that statement is true. One of the best-kept secret ingredients of any engaged business before, during, and after social media is empathy.
The connected consumer is incredibly sophisticated. Add to that, the nature of social networks. What Facebook, Twitter, Google+, et al. share is that they’re rich with emotion. People share what they like, love, dislike, or even hate. People engage with one another based on these emotions because it’s personal.
Businesses are entering these very emotional landscapes and they are treating them in many regards much as they do with other media channels. Just because they’re present and participating doesn’t mean that they’re human or that what it is they’re expressing is empathetic in nature.
During the listening process, we can capture the challenges, joys, struggles, and achievements of people who are customers or those related to our markets. Rather than just track keywords and activity, we can feel what it is that would matter to customers and build off of those findings.
For example, there are companies, like Freshbooks, that makes every employee in the company staff the customer service lines to better understand customers. The objective of course is to instill empathy. Because once you do, business becomes personal.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Brian, as we say, the Diva Marketing viral stage is yours. Wrap it up any way you’d like.
Brian Solis: This is an important time. We are presented with an opportunity and some of us need to make touch choices right now.
I believe that we are standing at a crossroads. In one direction, we can continue our quest to bring social media within business, to help companies “get it” and work with them to socialize marketing, communications, and service. In the other direction, we can use the lessons we learned from social media to bring about change within the company.
As change agents, this path will bring together once disparate teams and functions to coll aborate in creating new culture of customer and employee centricity and overall market relevance.
Each path is important. It’s up to us to make a decision and push forward to help whomever we work with benefit from our vision and perseverance.
Brian Solis has earned a reputation as guy who digs deep and comes up with insights that result in head nodding. However, his analysis quite often takes our own thinking into directions that might not have been as obvious to us.
For me his new book, The End of Business As Usual, did both. I nodded and at the end of the read I thought just a little differently. Brian graciously agreed to share his thoughts about social media and the connected consumer. (Yes, Max liked The End of Business As Usual too!)
Brian's responses were so rich and deep that I've turned his interview into a two part series. Tune in tomorrow for part two! (Part Two Interview with Brian Solis)
Diva Marketing/Toby: The End of Business As Usual explores how the digital world, including social media, is impacting not only the way customers connect with companies but how companies interact with their customers and stakeholders. At this point in the evolution of social media what does social media mean to you?
Brian Solis: Social media means a lot of different things to me and that’s why I’m inspired to invest as much possible to understand the impact on business, culture, consumers, and also individuals. At a minimum, social media is an opportunity for introspection. We have the ability to easily connect with one another.
We’re forming incredibly vibrant and extensive networks around relationships and interests. We’re learning how to live life in a very public, and searchable, space. Just as individuals, businesses, organizations, governments, you name it, are equally given the gift of connections and the ability to interact with people directly.
Social media opens the door to empathy and influence. But as a result, the tenets required to thrive in social media require a different approach, a thoughtful strategy, and intentions designed to deliver value to all participants in engagement.
I study social media programs by the thousands and I have to tell you, there are amazing examples and best practices out there. But, there are more examples of antisocial media then there are of social media…meaning, content, campaigns, contests, messages, are stuffed into new networks under the guise of social, when in fact, there’s very little social in the social media initiative.
Social media is in a state of rapid maturation and that’s why I wrote The End of Business as Usual. There are important lessons right now that are more important than social media. Understanding the bigger picture will only benefit how businesses use social media and how they grow as a company and a team of human beings united to accomplish something that’s bigger than any one individual.
Consumerism is changing. There is no longer one audience bound by demographics. In the book, I introduce the reader to the connected consumer. How they find information, how they make decisions, and how the influence and are influenced, is not at all like the previous generations of customers businesses are used to marketing and selling to, servicing, or tracking.
The book title says it all. This is about a fundamental change in behavior, which isn’t regressing, it’s actually spreading. Taking the same old strategies, programs, philosophies, and us vs. them culture into this next generation of connected consumerism is the surest way to digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than our ability to adapt.
No longer is it just about survival of the fittest, it’s now also about survival of the fitting.
Diva Marketing/Toby: You discuss the importance of creating and maintaining authentic exchanges which in turn, lead to building relationship with the connect customer. For every person who happens onto those interactions (random or deliberate) these exchanges become part of a shared brand experience. People can see who the brand chooses to engage within the social web.
How do you ensure that connected customers who have reached out to the brand but are not included in, call them direct discussions with the brand, still feel special and not left out? I wonder .. are we creating an illusion of special?
Brian Solis: Interesting…I like the idea of the “illusion of special.” The same is true for social media and individuals. From Klout scores to Twitter followers, many people are struggling with the idea of importance. Whether or not connected consumers expect a company response or if an interaction actually occurred, people will freely share their experiences with companies.It is those published experiences in social networks that become not only searchable, but also impact the considerations and decisions of those who are either connected or those who find it in social search or simply by asking.
Many businesses see social media as a necessary evil and/or an opportunity to engage with customers who have negative experiences. Doing so puts an organization at risk. By responding to negative experiences, companies get stuck in a move and react form of engagement.
The real opportunity is to learn from customer behavior to design better products, build an infrastructure that supports improved experiences, and continue to do so over time. It’s part leadership and part support. However, it’s never ending. What is the experience your customers have today? How do they find you? What shows up as someone is considering you now in social networks, not just Google, and what does their click path look like?
Once you understand the “day in the life” and what it is that people are expressing, you can begin to design a meaningful experience.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In Chapter 13 you said listening is “Not an administrative position left to a recent college graduate because they get social media. This is a senior function that reports to management that processes authority to make decisions …” (p160)
I’m curious to understand who you believe should participate in social conversations as the voice of the brand. Is it a job for an intern or junior staff member or is this also a senior or mid management responsibility and why?
Brian Solis: This section refers to importance of the role of intelligence. It extends the thoughts shared in the last question. Often we get caught up in monitoring for mentions, sentiment, share of voice, and we miss the insights that can guide our engagement strategies and internal processes.
But to specifically answer your question, it’s not the role of just any one person to become the voice of the company. The needs of customers is far greater than any one person can or should manage. At any one moment, your consumer can be an advocate expecting rewards, a customer needing help, a prospect requiring information or guidance, a partner wishing to express ideas to improve experiences, a potential employee needing HR attention, etc. The point is that every division affected by the activity within social media or any new media for that matter, must include an extension to 1) listen, 2) learn, 3) engage, and 4) adapt.
This is a major transformation and not something to be taken lightly. It starts with a mission, purpose, and vision. It requires a thoughtful plan. It requires training, governance, and compliance.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Throughout the book and in particular, Chapter 13 Brands Are No Longer Created, They’re Co-Created, you discuss the responsibilities of the organization to embrace the connected customer in developing the brand. With the connected customer now involved with developing the brand, the CC must also share in the responsibility. What is the accountability of the connected customer to the brand?
Brian Solis: At the end of the day, connected customers will share their experience with or without you. That’s the power and freedom of new media and self expression is the ante to buy into any social network. The question is, without your involvement, without design, with trying to shape experiences proactively, what will your customers say and what will they do?
To truly create and steer experiences, businesses must design programs that seek their involvement. For example, Dell’s IdeaStorm and MyStarbucksIdea are proactive forms of communities dedicated to rallying customer feedback, recognizing and rewarding their input, and designing new experiences as a result. It puts customer ideas to work and they can see the progress of their input. Programs like this convert a connected customer into a stakeholder. Dell has gone even further by opening up an inward-facing community where employees can contribute and engage around their ideas as well.
Communities such as this are designed to channel self-expression into forms of collaboration. American Express recently launched its Link.Like.Love program that ties together the company’s rewards program with social activity. Beyond contests, general conversations, reactive customer support, smart businesses are thinking ahead to deliver value while steering and shaping desirable “shared” experiences.
As they say .. Tune in tomorrow for part two of Brian Solis' interview. In the mean time continue the conversation with Brian on Twitter or Facebook.
Update: Part II Interview with Brian Solis where Brian shares insights about new values, responsibilities and how we are on the cross roads of marketing.
Bloggy Disclaimer: Brian kindly comped me a copy of the book The End of Business as Usual.
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. ~H. P. Lovecraft, Author
How are you learing about social media? Perhaps through books, conferences or workshops. Just as valuable is the way knowledge was transferred when blogs hit the business scene .. from peer-to-peer in online discussions.
Just Once Crowd Sourced Question is a Diva Marketing series where the community shares their insights on a specific social media issue. In doing that, we can help alleviate some of the scary fears. In celebration of Halloween ..
Just One Crowd Sourced Question
What is your scariest thought on how brands or agencies are using any aspect of social media/social networks?
One of the scariest things I see is too many "brand" witches around the social media kettle. Each with a different opinion and no common, customer-centric vision to unite them.
So they disagree and waste time and money chasing warts, I mean likes, fans friends and followers instead business outcomes. In the confusion, the "social media expert" gets paid to maintain the status quo. Now that's scary. Muahahahaha ~ Lee Odden, Top Ranking Blog@LeeOdden
Businesses should focus on the model and how they trade: What do they need to start doing more, and what do they need to stop doing? Conversation is a way to draw out the model and build the promise architecture to trade. The scariest thought, therefore, is that businesses are asking precisely the *wrong* question.
Technology needs to be viewed in light of the business model. Entire industries are being disrupted and organizations are still hiring people to be in charge of Twitter and Facebook -- this is what is truly scary. ~ Valeria Maltoni, Principal, Conversation Agent LLC @ConversationAge
Biggest scare: when brands or orgs jump into social media because they "should" an without a coherent strategy for connecting existing goals to their social media efforts. ~ Hillary Boucher, BirthSwell@hillaryboucher
Scariest thought is how so many PR practitioners use social media in impersonal and ineffective ways yet believing they're doing it well. That is worse that those who just don't get it at all.~ Neville Hobson, NevilleHobson.com@jangles
I've heard of people who have been involved in cases of mistaken identity as a result of social search. In other words, they had "digital doppelgangers" -- people who share their name. Doesn't sound too dangerous, until one of those people is a murderer or was charged with fraud.
Organizations need to be careful not to assume a simple Google search always results in learning the correct information about the person in question! On the flip side, individuals need to seize control of their names online by creating profiles and digital presences to overcome negative digital doppelganger results! ~ Miriam Salpeter, Keppie Careers,@Keppie_Careers
Scariets thought is having content stolen and being misrepresented. ~ Toby Neal, TobyNeal.net @tobywneal
My scariest thought: brands assuming social is just another direct response channel and missing out on the opportunity to create a relationship with some of the brand's most valuable customers. My second scariest thought: assuming everyone who has liked or followed the brand is a valuable customer and thus offering richer discounts than those who have raised their hand and shared their information.
Don't forget to connect the dots back to the customer database, so while you are creating great relationships you can also make sound business decisions around discounting and rewards. ~ Teresa Caro, [r]Dialogue @teresacaro
Toby, I think my scariest thought is that brands start developing content in social media, without having a backup plan and the people to support and respond to any crisis that will happen. ~ Anon
Mass Following on Twitter -I get scared when a company skips the process of vetting and actually reading the profiles of the people they follow and opt to use tools that let them follow massive numbers of people. Your followers are about quality not quantity people! ~ Natalie MacNeil, She Takes on the World@NatalieMacNeil
Scariest thought? That they're not listening. And that they think how they did business in 2005 is the same as 2011. ~ Anon
My scariest thought is that brands (and agencies) are jumping into social media with no forethought, planning or strategy. Because so many of the tools are free -- they are not giving them the "respect" they would offer traditional marketing tools/efforts. The outcome of that is, of course, their efforts fall flat and then they declare that social media is not right for their business.
This is particularly worrisome for the small business owner who could reap all the benefits if they just took the time to learn/think it through before jumping in. ~Drew McLellanDrew's Marketing Minute@DrewMcLellan
Toss of a pink boa to the people who generously shared their thoughts.
It's your turn! Let's continue the learnings. What is your scariest thought about social media?
Traditionally customer service has been perceived as a necessary business function whose purpose is to appease unhappy customers.
Becky Carroll believes differently. She thinks customers rock and caring for your customer is one of the joys of doing businss.
With the onset of social media, savvy companies like Dell, Zappos and your neighborhood food truck are learning servicing the customer can be a critical strategy; and sets you apart from your competiton.
In Brian Solis’ foreword to The Hidden Power of Your Customers, there is one line that especially resonated with me. “With the emergence of social media, we are given not just a right to engage but a rite of passage to earn relevance.” Relvancy and customer service .. a novel idea!
Becky Carroll kindly shares her innovative, but it makes sense, approach to building a “Customers Rock” focused company.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I would imagine a Customer Rocks company takes coordination, alignment and team work that many organizations may not have in place. What would you tell those companies where departments are silo-ed or where employees may never have thought of their role as being part of customer service?
Becky Carroll: You are right, Toby, it does take quite a bit of coordination inside an organization to create an integrated approach to customers – whether that’s in customer service, marketing, sales, or any other customer-facing function. Company silos can create inconsistent messaging and treatment for and of customers.
To answer your question, I often recommend those companies create a customer experience map of their interactions with customers. Described in my book, this mapping of company transactions helps to do two things.
First, since the map takes the customer’s perspective, it reveals how different internal organizations come together (or not) to impact the customer experience.
When cross-functional teams sit down and analyze this map, they usually find opportunities for process improvements, as well as areas of best practice, that will ultimately make the business more efficient, as well as more effective for the customer.
Second, a customer experience map can also help employees who are not “customer facing” to understand how their roles ultimately impact the customer experience. The map includes data and process inputs and outputs from different organizations, so employees can visually see where their outputs feed into customer interactions.
This understanding, along with cross-organizational metrics that help drive customer focus across all employees, can help everyone understand how they are a part of “taking care of customers”.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Becky, including multiple departments or business units in supporting customer service begs the question, “Who owns the service to the customer?”
Becky Carroll: As you can see from my answer above, I firmly believe that every employee participates and ultimately owns the service of the customer. Some employees interact directly with the customer to provide this service; others are serving fellow employees across departments, which empowers them to perform their customer-facing roles effectively – from the customer’s perspective.
Employee metrics focused on customer service will help make drive employee behaviors to support customer-focused initiatives.
Diva Marketing/Toby: The irony of social media is that we began this journey with a focus on bringing people together .. customers and the staff behind the brand. However, frequently it seems the objective is not building relationships but in how many friends, likes, followers and now 1+ a brand can accumulate.
You turn the tables and advise us to be your customer’s fan (love it!). How do we get out of the "collecting numbers mindset?"
Becky Carroll: Social media practitioners get into the habit of collecting numbers when they view social media as another place to run campaigns.
Social media is not a campaign – it is a strategy to build relationships.
When a company creates a social media strategy that is based on business goals, such as increasing customer share of wallet, as well as based on improving customer relationships (which can include prospects, too), rather then simply tracking “traffic” to social media properties (likes, followers, etc), we begin to move out of the campaign-mindset.
It also helps executives to better understand what we are doing with social media when we talk to them in terms of business goals and metrics as opposed to the much-touted social media “numbers”.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I’ve used social media to call companies out and also to tell companies their service or product rocks. Sometimes I’ve been acknowledged and sometimes I have not. I must admit that when I don’t get a response, but notice that other people are getting special treatment I feel slighted. How does a company scale Customers Rock service?
Becky Carroll: Customer service via social media scales best when it is part of a customer-focused culture. This type of culture is created by company management as they model servant leadership towards their employees.
When employees, all employees, see how it looks to serve others in the organization, they learn how to serve customers. Once everyone at the company understands how customer service is everyone’s job, and this is supported by management and metrics, employees will be empowered to treat all customers well – both in social media as well as in other customer-facing channels.
Diva Marketing/Toby: I agree with you .. at the end of the day it is all about the people on both side of the equation: customers and employees. As our friend Sybil Stershic reminds us although most product and services can easily become commoditized relationships built on caring service are more difficult to duplicate.
After you’ve listened (Chapter 1) and understand your customers’ need what is the first step to take in becoming a Customers Rock company?
Becky Carroll: The first step in becoming a Customers Rock company is to create a customer strategy. Companies have marketing strategies, social media strategies, and product strategies – but how many of them have a strategy for how they will treat their customers? This strategy needs to be thought-through carefully and embraced at all levels of the organization.
It should incorporate all four keys described in the book – Relevant Marketing, Orchestrated Customer Experience, Customer-Focused Culture, and Killer Customer Service – in order to create a strategy that can unlock the hidden power of your existing customers.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Becky, the Diva Marketing virtual stage is yours. Wrap it up any way you like.
Becky Carroll: I would just encourage organizations not to take their current customers for granted. They have more power than you think to help grow your business. And it’s not really hard – start with a thank you for being our customer!
Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of Diva Marketing, Toby. You rock!
Update: Becky Carroll chose Aimee's comment as the winner. As an extra bonus for us ~ Aimee graciously agreed to tell us her 3 top customer rock tips .. skip over to this post! Thanks to everyone who participated!
Bloggy disclaimer: Becky kindly comped me a copy of her book.
"Amazing bread does great things for the world. Great bread is inspiring." - James DiSabation
James DiSabatino has a love affair with bread and cheese. It makes total sense when you find out that he's the owner of the Boston based food truck Roxy Gourmet Grilled Cheese.
James kindly agreed to juggle his packed days to judge Diva Marketing's marketing tips contest re: food trucks (sponsored by MSN Business On Main). The winner is highlighted below. Toss of a pink boa to Dorothea Bozicolona-Volpe for the intro to James.
Last week James chatted with me about Roxy's back story, his philosophy on the food truck biz and of course using social media as a marketing tactic. We discovered that in addition to sharing a love of food and food trucks, we are also Emerson College alums .. and the world continues to spin smaller!
Diva Marketing/Toby: Roxy was so new why did you apply for a competition that put you up against more seasoned food truck owners?
James DiSabatino: We didn't .. they recruited us. We thought it was a joke until we got the casting email. They were searching online and we kept coming up in their searches. Guess they liked the Boston focus and brothers from Boston who grilled cheese sandwiches and were in a rock band.
Diva Marketing/Toby: So it seems that social media networks works. Twitter, Facebook not only pulled Roxy up in the search rankings but created an image the producers thought would make good TV.
I found it interesting that the Roxy guys were the only team wearing t-shirts that promoted their city not their brand. James told me although he pushed hard to wear Roxy t-shirts, the Food Network insisted the guys wear "Boston" shirts. They never really found out why. Who knows how producers' minds work?
Diva Marketing/Toby: What's the story behind the name Roxy?
James DiSabatino: A tribute to someone in my life that I want to keep a mystery. People would come up to us and not ask who Roxy was but say things like .. so is Roxy a fill in the blank. They were making assumptions. I thought it would be a good idea to leave it up to their imaginations. Roxy could be anyone they wanted her to be.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Quite naturally grilled cheese lends itself to nostalgia positioning. Roxy's fun branding reflects what I'd call -- retro with an edge.
The Icon/Logo: An innocent young girl, wearing 1950's style pigtails, happily munches on a grilled cheese sandwich. But look closer and you'll find a skull and cross bones tatoo on her arm. The tat pays homage to Blood For Blood a favorite Roxy Boston band.
James was cautioned not to add the tat. Some people thought it could be risky. However, as James said to me, "We don't do safe."
Nope .. they sure don't. Not in their logo design nor in their food. As it turned out the icon fits perfectly with the positioning of a retro feel with contemporary flavors. So who are Roxy's clients? They run from college students to grandparents who bring their grandchildren along. Grilled cheese, even gourmet grilled cheese, crosses generations, "It's not a hard sell," James assured me.
Diva Marketing/Toby: So James, what's your marketing deal?
James DiSabatino: We never planned to spend any money on advertising and we never will. We wanted the experience to create awareness through our community and using social media.
We take time to interact with our customers to help create an experience for them. It’s more than getting the food out the window. Our #1 priority is getting to know our customers one person at a time.
Our wait line is longer than most food trucks. It takes 3.5 minutes per side to grill the sandwich .. it’s just part of the experience. Customers hang out with each out and engage with each other .. creating community. I engage with people on line. I respond to tweets. I ask questions and sometimes get flavor ideas. We’re building culture online and offline.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Perhaps one day we'll find a Roxy grilled cheese sandwich named for a Twitter @!
In addition to building community with and among Roxy's customers, James has a strong focus to support and give back to the communities that host the Roxy truck. Watch for the Roxy team to soon be involved with offline events. These events provide opportunities to earn money which will be donated to local causes. One of Jame's favorite causes is early childhood education.
Diva Markting/Toby: What would you tell people who have not tried food truck food?
James DiSabatino: It's some of best food and the best food experience you'll have. No where else can you interact directly with the chef who is making your food.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Never thought about food trucks in quite that way. I might call food trucks a with the people food experience!
James DiSabatino's Food Truck Marketing Tips Response
"As a food truck owner, and having spent years of research before opening, I never once asked myself "What should my marketing budget be?" While this may play an important role in restaurants, food trucks take on a different culinary role in the neighborhood.
Rather than wondering what you should be spending on marketing, a food truck owner should ask him or herself, "What do I need to fully engage my community?" If you're planning on opening a food truck, whether you're going to be the chef, the order taker, the expediter, you will be interacting with your customers directly. And to remain successful, you have to be an important part of the community you're serving in.
So based on my ideology, I choose number four, who suggests feeding the homeless. Rather than giving your money to someone else, you’re using your money to feed people in your community who can’t afford to eat themselves. It's all about community engagement, and bringing a community together is the number one priority a food truck should have if they want to stay in business.
Runner up would be number two (Debra Gaynor), creating alliances to cater weddings. While 10 food trucks will split the money up quite a bit, two or three trucks offering catering services for weddings is an excellent idea. It gets a group of closely interconnected people (with large networks) excited about your business. This is a great grassroots marketing idea, because you have a public ready to spread the word, all while making money for the wedding!"
TRUCK KITCHEN. One day a week for two hours, the truck distributes free servings in a neighborhood for the poor and homeless. But there’s more. Give a man a fish he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish and he eats for life.
The food truck owner can teach a poor or homeless person to blog about the experience at the local public library. That account could be aired on television. Also, a poor or homeless can be taught to use a video camera and record how it is to be homeless. That could be edited for a documentary.
Thanks to all who participated .. you all offered ideas that could help Food Trucks roll into success .. or something like that.
Continue the conversation with James and the Roxy Team!
Part 2 of my interview with Alex Brown explores how he incorporated social media to create awareness for his book, the Barbao community, horse slaughter and Laminitis the disease that killed Barbaro. (Part 1 tells the back-story of why Alex wrote the book and how he created an engaged community of thousands.)
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s talk about the book, which by the way, I loved! Greatness and Goodness Barbaro And His Legacy may be an extension of the digital world that Fans of Barbaro built, however, it is still an entity on to itself.
How is your approach towards marketing/creating awareness different with the book versus the site?
Alex Brown: This is something I am learning as I am going along. With the book I had an initial advantage, I already had a large community. Many of those within the community were waiting to buy the book as it was launched. And I added a facebook fan page for the book to keep people updated with its progress.
I also created an extensive schedule for book signings, visiting many racetracks and timing the launch around the excitement of this year's Triple Crown. So there was a traditional component to the marketing campaign. This year marks the five year anniversary since Barbaro's great win, so that timing helped also.
I was able to get some pretty good media exposure. I also had a few reviews of the book done, which helped. Each time there was a review, or article about the book, or a book signing event to talk about, I would update the facebook fan page, my own profile page, the main AlexBrownRacing.com site and so forth. I was busy, getting good coverage, and also able to use the social media tools to make it all look busy and successful.
The major downside is I self published (great advantages to doing that) which means I really don't have access to the major retail stores. The book is on Amazon, we recently eclipsed 500 sales on Amazon.
Diva Marketing/Toby: In terms of general marketing, and of course social media, what tactics/tools are giving you the biggest impact for time you invest?
Alex Brown: I don't think there is one tactic which has proven most successful. The key has been to keep the community constantly updated with progress with the book, keep the interest front and center. Going quiet about the book would potentially be fatal.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Let’s talk the “C” words .. content creation. Are you leveraging the content from the book, social platforms, and even online media, to support the book promotion (and feed your social networks)? If so how?
Alex Brown: I have a book excerpt that I have made available on the internet. I think that has helped. I have promoted its availability through the many channels I use. As I noted earlier, anytime there is a review, or feedback on the book, I push that out through the channels.
It is funny though, as hard as I try, and as deliberate as I am about push all the content back out, there are many in the community who do not see the content. I guess it is like traditional marketing, your customer has to see something multiple times before it truly registers.
I am also exploring e-version ideas for the book, and hoping they help cross-sell the hard cover book.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Your own story is fascinating and inspirational. The digital platforms you created, as well as your book, have turned into catalysts for several “for the greater good” purposes: the legacy of Barbaro, dreaded Laminitis disease and education about horse slaughter.
What extent did the internet and social media play .. wondering if this could have been accomplished without a digital presence?
Alex Brown: Its role has been fundamental. This could never have happened otherwise. That's the short and long answer.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Alex, you get the last word .. wrap it up any way you’d like my friend.
Alex Brown: Thanks for all your support. I cannot remember how long ago it was when you started speaking to my class at Udel (over the internet), it would be fun to revisit what we talked about then.
The fascinating aspect of social media it is keeps evolving and improving. Now I have to figure out this Google+ thingy!
Continue the Conversation with Alex!
Even if you are not a horseman (or horsediva) Great and Goodness Barbaro and Legacy is an inspirational from the heart read.
When I think of the world of social media and blogs what I will forever remember, and be greatful for, are the amazing people who walked through my virtual door. One of my favorites is Alex Brown.
Recently Alex wrote a book .. a beautiful book .. an inspiring book .. a book that touches the heart. I must admit it moved me to tears. (The amazing photographs and sketches make it a wonderful coffee table book.)
It is the story of Barbaro the gallant racing horse and the people who trained, nutured and cared for him.
It is also Alex's story of how he used social media to create a structure that encouraged a community to form that supported Barbaro and each other.
About Alex Brown: I am a horseman, who is also an internet marketing "geek." I have ridden horses all my life, and I have been using the internet for teaching and marketing since 1992.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Before we explore some of the social media marketing initiatives that support Greatness and Goodness Barbaro And His Legacyand alexbrownracing.com please give us a bit of understanding why you felt compelled to write this particular book about Barbaro?
Alex Brown: I had spent the better part of three years supporting an online community which had emerged as it followed Barbaro's attempted recovery at New Bolton Center, and which merged into a horse racing and horse welfare community.
I had used many social media tools to support this community. I decided to then use a more traditional medium, a book, to write about the experience in a broader story about Barbaro and his lasting legacy.
Diva Marketing/Toby: To help frame our interview, would you tell us the back-story of why you created a site for/about Barbaro?
Alex Brown: I was already running a web-site for a racehorse trainer, and friend. We decided to use his site to update race fans of Barbaro's preparations for the Preakness Stakes after he had won the Kentucky Derby so easily, to remain undefeated.
Tragedy struck in the Preakness as we now know, but the site became useful to keep his growing fans abreast with his daily attempt at recovery. He very nearly made it too! (Photo of Barbaro)
Diva Marketing/Toby: While your friends in the equestrian world know you as a dedicated and passionate horseman, I know you as an innovative marketer who stepped into blogs long before the term social media was popularized.
So let’s turn the clock back to 2005 – 2008 when you were Sr. Associate Director of Admissions at Wharton and then marketing prof at University of Delaware. What lessons did you learn during those early days that helped you create the blog for Barbaro?
Alex Brown: I think we are always learning, so clearly all my prior experiences, which include teaching Internet Marketing at the University of Delaware, running the first blog at the Wharton School (for MBA admissions), managing a very active online discussion board for MBA applicants, and so forth, allowed me to understand how communities can work.
I also read geeky books on game theory and stuff like that. But as much as I learned, and thought I knew it all in terms of managing online communities, I have learned twice as much managing this project.
Diva Marketing/Toby: You had huge success with that blog (and subsequent message board and wiki), from hundreds of thousands of comments, to rich content and wonderful search rankings. Recently you changed domains from timwoolleyracing.com to alexbrownracing.com.
Obviously, the blog drove traffic to the Tim Woolley Racing web site. Did you have an agreement with Tim Woolley Racing that you would “own” the site and might even change the URL? How was that relationship structured?
Alex Brown: Tim Woolley and I have been close friends for a very long time. At one point the site was overwhelmed with Barbaro and horse welfare and racing content and it made sense to let Tim have his site back. At that time I was also leaving Fair Hill where Tim and I worked, and was planning to travel for a couple of years to do further research for the book.
Changing domains helped mark that occasion. Maintaining Google rankings and so forth was not really a problem, and we were able to copy all the content over to the new domain.
What I felt was super important was to leave the design of the sites the same. I am a huge believer in the value of design usability, and once your community is used to how things work, only change things if there are super critical reasons to do so.
My interest and experience with web design usability was also something I brought to the design of the book, an aspect of the book of which I am very proud. I do think the designer wanted to kill me at some points of the book project though!!
Diva Marketing/Toby: For the geeks in the audience, did moving the domain impact your search results and/or traffic to the site very much?
Alex Brown: A slight hiccup perhaps. No more than that.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Barbaro captured the hearts and imagination of people from all over the world. The site provided what Mike Jensen, Philadelphia Inquirer said was “.. real-time updates from the principles and they were able to form a community.” (p 85)
In the social media world, you had 2 critical elements: content and emotional connection. However, the big social media win goes beyond just the number of “likes” “followers” “circles” or subscribers that comprise a community but to engagement. You knocked that out of the park (oops wrong sport!). We’d love your insights on how to take community to the level of “tribe.”
Alex Brown: Yes, certainly this became a community of action. They have raised well over $1 million to rescue horses from slaughter, and done so much more too. I think it is hard to absolutely determine how that happened, but there are one or two things I have learned from this that might prove useful.
Firstly, mistakes happen, a community needs to be able to learn from those mistakes and grow from those mistakes. Making a mistake once is fine, as long as you do learn from it. Not making any mistakes really means you have not tried hard enough.
The other thing that I think is super important is how the community is led. I did not decide we should get active on the horse slaughter issue. Members of the community did, and others followed, and it all bubbled up. This is the same with other projects the community has undertaken. My job, along with other moderators, has been to observe, nudge, and keep the conversations on target.
I once told someone, when describing the most important aspects of managing the community: "When I get up in the morning I just hope I don't mess it up." There have been a few occasions, over the 5 years, that I nearly did mess it up.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Can you share some and how you recovered?
Alex Brown: The most sensitive aspect of running a large community is what actions you take if inappropriate content is posted. As the moderator you have to have a set of rules for your community, and you have to adhere to those rules.
This can create short term reactions, but you have to keep your eye on the long term welfare of the overall community. If you have to ban someone (a user ID), typically that person has his / her own network, and belongs to other communities.
On top of that, the banned user can easily connect now (especially with facebook) to "discuss" your actions with others. Honestly it can get nasty, and as we know, if two people say the same thing about you on the internet, it has to be true! You need a thick skin to manage a community like this.
To be continued .. more about how Alex is using social media to create awareness for the book, the community, horse slaughter and the disease that killed Barbaro.
My greatest strength is common sense. I'm really a standard brand - like Campbell's tomato soup or Baker's chocolate. ~ Katharine Hepburn
You many not be an actor or a celebrity, however, how your peers, colleagues and employers perceive you is as critical to your career path as the carefully craft "brand" of Kate Hepburn or Lady Gaga.
The Brand Called You, can and should be managed as diligently as if you were a rock star. Within your world are you not?
As digital continues to integrate into how business is conducted, your personal online "bread crumb trail" takes on a more important role of how people perceive you. Is your online presence positive or is it a liability? Do you come across as a thought leader or some one who parrots other people's ideas? Do your tweets selflessly bring value or are they thinly veiled sales pitches?
I asked 5 savvy women, who work in diverse corporate environments, if they would share how they use social media to help build and promote their personal brands.
They talked about how to use your personal brand to stand out from the crowd by highlighting your strenghts; as well as, the importance of boundaries when it comes to letting people into your social world. Then wrapped it up with a few tips:
Be a resource for life
Remember your personal brand will evolve over time
Make your discussions real .. forget about industry buzz worlds
Find the tool/s that work best for you .. you don't have to use them all
Be active and consistent
This is 3rd and final post in the series Social Media Can "Help" Build & Promote Your Personal Brand.Part 1Part 2 Please meet our guests:
Amanda Coogle - Sales Consultant for PulteGroup, a nationwide homebuilder. Responsible for the marketing and sales efforts at a Centex branded community in the Coastal Carolinas Division. FacebookLinkedinTwitterFoursquare
Em Hall - Communicator who specializes in digital strategy, social media, and online marketing. Currently works in the transportation industry and has led social media strategy for nonprofits. FacebookBlogLinkedinTwitterPortfolio
Nancy Schubert - Global Brand Professional has worked for IBM full-time for 13 years on a contract basis. BlogLinkedinTwitter
Nazanin Weck - Develops concepts, designs creative marketing and communications material for the parks and recreation industry. LinkedinTwitter
Diva Marketing/Toby: How are you leveraging your “digital personal brand” to help support your career path?
Amanda Coogle: I am leveraging my “digital personal brand” by being a reliable source in more than one subject. I am licensed in real estate in both Georgia and South Carolina so obviously I am a reliable source for real estate; but I am also a reliable source of knowledge on marketing strategy, project management, and even nail polish colors to one of my Twitter followers.
By being a reliable source in multiple topics, I am a multi-tasker who can handle a variety of projects in a fast paced environment.
Em Hall: It’s a crowded field in digital strategy and social media these days. Sometimes it feels like I’m on a hamster wheel just trying to keep up!
I try to use my digital personal brand to leverage fun and creative opportunities, and also to get the word out about side projects like I’m doing, for example, when I directed a play earlier this year, or my involvement in my local civic association.
Those types of activities (hopefully) help make me a thought leader and influencer in my field, but also show that I’m a person who does a lot more than just sit in an office. I think that’s what employers and clients are looking for these days.
Laura Bennett: Since I’m the CEO of Embrace Pet Insurance, my next logical step is to work myself out of a job at Embrace and keep myself busy somewhere else.
In that situation, I think that everything about me online is pretty representative of what I’m all about, my 3D-resume if you like. Of course, it’s not just a 2-D façade but years of interactions with many people so in the end, it’s the people I’m connected to that will help me with my career path down the road.
Nazanin Weck: Using my “digital personal brand” to communicate to my peers and others within the same industry, I am able to further highlight what my strengths are and what sets me apart from other marketers out there. I am able to be exposed to and learn a great deal by having a “digital identity”.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Do you set boundaries for the people who you will “friend, follow or connect with” on the social web?
Amanda Coogle: I do, but primarily on Facebook. I think that Facebook is more personal than the other three platforms. My rule of thumb with Facebook is that if I don’t share any friends with a person, I am highly unlikely to accept their request. Facebook allows someone to look into the window of a person’s life so I am a little more cautious with this platform.
Em Hall: I’ll connect with anyone who shares a passion in the topics that I discuss online. The more opportunities for discussion and debate, the better!
The only time I choose not to connect is if I get a request on LinkedIn and the person is a complete stranger. Even then, I’ll message them and ask, “How do we know each other?” Because I’m in the business of marketing and communications, having a depth and breadth to my online network is almost always an advantage.
You never know who will call, email, DM – or message you on LinkedIn, natch – with an interesting opportunity or just to chat about something new that’s on their mind. I like to keep it open and easy, so I also keep few security limits on who can see what. At the same time, I realize that everything I share could be searched and scrutinized, so I’m always mindful of what I will and will not divulge online.
Laura Bennett: I don’t have many boundaries although I am not likely to respond to you if:
1. You only post links (twitter) – likely just an auto feed from your blog. If you can’t take the time and interact on twitter, I don’t want to be the sponge for your feeds
2. You aren’t real – I can tell!
3. You are a bit of an ass - that’s not what I’m about (and I get to judge!)
4. Sorry you lonely guy from remote parts of the world with 2 friends - I’m not going to hook up with you today or any other day…
Nancy Schubert: Yes. I don’t confirm all individuals to follow me on Twitter. I check out a Twitter requestor to follow me to determine from their posts if this is someone I want to be associated with. If I find cursing, brash or negative comments on posts I won’t approve the individual to follow me.
On LinkedIn, I connect with a variety of people – almost all of whom I know professionally, with some friends and a very few family members sprinkled in. With few well-thought-out exceptions, these are people whom I know or at least have met. Even with these criteria, I’m still am LinkedIn with nearly 400 people.
Nazanin Weck: I absolutely do! To me, its important to have followers and follow “real” accounts.
Too often, spammers are added to accounts and start to follow you, which in turn causes you to loose credibility with your peers. I think it is important to branch out to others and while followers are great for getting your information out, the wrong followers can send out a bad message and tarnish your “online reputation.”
Diva Marketing/Toby: What tip would you give to women, working in organizations (not business owners) who are considering using social media to create a more visible personal brand?
Amanda Coogle: My company represents value, a quality product, and the ability to be the customer’s ‘Builder for Life’ with our three brands: Centex, Pulte, and Del Webb. My personal brand reflects the same representations.
I am a reliable source with valuable information to offer, and I consistently deliver quality work and knowledge. Because of the value and quality I deliver, my brand sends the message that I have the ability to be a source for life.
Em Hall: Have fun! Let your personal brand reflect the passions, interests, and activities that are complementary to – but not necessarily the same as – your career.
Create an online portfolio that shows off the range of work you do, and make some personal business cards to hand out along with your regular business cards, when appropriate. And this is going to sound incredibly narcissistic, but make a point of regularly Googling your name to see what shows up as the top hits. It’s good to know what others are seeing when they look for your name.
The opportunities you can create for yourself are limitless, and you never know what direction you might head in as your personal brand evolves.
Laura Bennett: Take the time to build your LinkedIn profile to reflect you as a person, not just a list of places you’ve worked.
Sound real, like you were telling your neighbors in your kitchen about your accomplishments and don’t be afraid to boast about what makes you stand out, what makes you interesting. I wouldn’t use corporate language or trendy “guru” language – that’s not real nor interesting, believe me!
Nancy Schubert: When starting out, try all social media tools that feel right. Then determine the amount of time you went to invest in social media and target your audience and stick with the tools that work best to get and keep you in front of that audience.
Nazanin Weck: Be active, and consistent! Many people start off posting and following and building their networks only to fizzle out once the excitement has died off.
It is imperative to continue networking and staying on top of the game within your industry. I believe there is always room for improvement, whether it’s in skills or your “personal brand.”
~~~~
Step 1: Take a cue from Kate Hepburn .. begin by identifying your greatest strength.
How are you using social media as a part of your career management?
It is not slickness, polish, uniqueness, or cleverness that makes a brand a brand. It is truth. ~ Harry Beckwith
In the old days .. pre Internet .. pre social networks, who you were was confined by space and time. If you stumbled and fell only the people in the room saw. Oh sure the water cooler gossips might be working overtime but it was soon forgotten and life went on. The same went for your successes.
With the onset of the digital world all that changed. As the saying goes,"Google has a long memory." Your online bread crumb trail never goes stale. All those little pieces build what is in vogue to call .. Your Personal Brand. How you stand out from the crowd. But you knew that.
What I was curious to explore was what women who work in a corporate world think of personal branding and how they use it to build their reputations inside of their job and outside as well.
I asked five successful women if they would share their opinions and use of personal "social media" branding. In Part 1 of Social Media Can "Help" Build & Promote Your Personal Brand Amanda, Em. Laura, Nancy and Naz discussed why they felt it was important to develop the brand called you. In part 2 they talk about authenticity and how they align the brand promise of their organizations with their own values .. or not.
Please meet the women who graciously shared their insights.
Amanda Coogle - Sales Consultant for PulteGroup which is a large, nationwide homebuilder. I am currently responsible for the marketing and sales efforts at a Centex branded community in the Coastal Carolinas Division. FacebookLinkedinTwitterFoursquare
Em Hall - Communicator who specializes in digital strategy, social media, and online marketing. She helped strategize and implement award-winning marketing campaigns at two of America’s most trusted nonprofits and currently works in the transportation industry. FacebookBlogLinkedinTwitterPortfolio
Laura Bennett - CEO and Co-Founder of Embrace Pet Insurance. I am an actuary, entrepreneur, mother, and world citizen. I left the corporate world to get out of insurance and to get my MBA, but my odd combination of actuarial skills and entrepreneurial leaning led me to the underserved and underpenetrated world of pet insurance. FacebookBlogLinkedinTwitter
Nancy Schburt - Global Brand Professional for IBM who has worked for IBM full-time for 13 years on a contract basis. BlogLinkedinTwitter
Nazanin Weck - Marketing professional who draws from 15 years of industry knowledge and professional skills, I develop concepts for and design creative marketing and communications material for the parks and recreation industry. LinkedinTwitter
Diva Marketing/Toby: We all have many facets to our personalities. How do you adjust your personality and values to the public forums of social media and still stay authentic and your ‘true self?’
Amanda Coogle: The way I handle that aspect of social media is that I keep the platforms separate from each other. I think that linking your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn profile is a great option – I just choose not to link them because my tweets are normally not real estate related. Each social media platform represents my ‘true self,’ but I cater the content to each individual platform.
Em Hall: My goal when creating my online persona was that anybody I meet in person should be able to recognize and connect my real-life self with “EmilyHaHa.” I love meeting people from Twitter who I follow or who follow me. And I’ve met up with about half a dozen of my regular blog readers to ride Metrorail or Metrobus together; we start chatting like we’re old friends! I never want to exist just in the virtual space, so it’s important to me that my “true self” is the same online or off.
Laura Bennett: I don’t adjust my values or personality; I just leave certain aspects out. So for example, I don’t talk politics, my negative opinions of other people, or about personal issues. I talk a lot about things I care about and my business and pet insurance happens to be a big part of that.
Nancy Schubert: I don’t adjust my personality and values. I don’t generally post about personal issues or positions I hold on topics outside my profession. I try to be very careful in positioning the brand known as Nancy Schubert. I don’t speak out on every public forum. I’m very selective in what I say and on which topics I speak.
Nazanin Weck: I may adjust the “tone” of my conversations based on the public forum and not so much my personality. My values and interests remain the same regardless of what forum I am on, I may hold back on some personal opinion depending on the conversation, but the overall message will remain the same. That being said, to maintain my “personal brand”, the majority of public forums, and social media outlets I am involved in are within my realm of expertise and interests therefore, there is no need to really adjust my values.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Does your management know about your digital presences and are they supportive? Have they put any limitations on you?
Amanda Coogle: Yes, my direct manager does know about my digital presence. She is supportive of my networking efforts because it is also great exposure for my company. I do, however, have a company laptop that provides some limitations. Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare along with most other social media websites are blocked which is perfectly fine with me. I am at work to focus on my sales and my customers, but we do have access to LinkedIn though.
Em Hall: My bosses have always been supportive of my non-work online activities, and are often quite active on social media themselves. I think that marketers these days really get the importance of having staff members who understand and are fluent in the language of social networking.
Laura Bennett: I am the management so yes and no :) I am the face of Embrace so I am very cognizant of what that means for Embrace whatever I am saying. I did have a well-meaning investment advisor once tell me that I shouldn’t mention that I read and like Deuce on my corporate blog so I deleted the post I mentioned it. It made me think about the message I was putting out and nothing to do with Deuce and whether that is or is not appropriate for me to like (I do like!), it’s more whether it was consistent with the message of the blog. Actually the post I deleted was on Heather’s dog Chuck so it was relevant at the time. You won’t catch me pulling that off now!
Nancy Schubert: My management is somewhat aware of my sm involvement. Yes, the company strongly supports employee sm involvement, but I don’t speak about my company on the web.
Nazanin Weck: Being in the government industry, while management is aware of my social presence, they do have certain limitations that must be followed. These limitations are nothing out of the ordinary and just good practice to keep that impeccable “online reputation”. Some great advice I once got was to “never put anything out in the digital world, you would not want your mother to read”. Beyond that, they are supportive and excited that I am able to utilize my “online presence” to network and further our marketing efforts.
Diva Marketing/Toby: Has there ever been a conflict in the way you present yourself in the digital world and the values of your organization/the brand you represent?
Amanda Coogle: My company represents value, a quality product, and the ability to be the customer’s ‘Builder for Life’ with our three brands: Centex, Pulte, and Del Webb. My personal brand reflects the same representations. I am a reliable source with valuable information to offer, and I consistently deliver quality work and knowledge. Because of the value and quality I deliver, my brand sends the message that I have the ability to be a source for life.
Em Hall: As much as my online presence supports my career goals and – I believe – helps make me a better employee, I keep the personal and professional strictly separate in that I’ve always blogged/Facebook-ed/Tweeted anonymously or under a pseudonym at the organizations where I’ve worked. At work it’s all about the organization’s mission and brand. It’s a fine line to walk, and of course people often figure
Nancy Schubert: No. My personal brand is me – not my company, not the organizations to which I belong.
Laura Bennett: No, we are one and the same. That’s how Embrace was founded – on the core values that my co-founder Alex and I had from day one out who “the woman behind the curtain” is, but I think it’s completely doable. Plus, I only work at places that align with my personal values and interests.
Nazanin Weck: I would say that my “online persona” is in line with the values of my organization, it is one of honesty and integrity. The difference is perhaps that my “personal brand” is more creative and tries to utilize the latest trends while the organization I am with, being government, lags behind in that department but I see that as a challenge to overcome and the ability to use my “online brand” to further the goals of my organization.
