06/15/2009
It's Atlanta. It's not even summer. And it's hot. Although that's just the way it is in Hot'lanta come almost summer it seems like a surprise. People nod and say, "Yup sure is hot."
It's a blog or a tweet or a vlog about your brand. It's not even dressed up in your company's pretty packaging. And it's the raw voice of your customer. Although that's just the way social media is it seems like a surprise. People nod and say, "How can we control it?
Summer is hot.
Social media is come as you are.
At this point it shouldn't come as a big surprise to us.
That's just the way it is.
06/08/2009
"We are moving from technology-centric applications to people-centric applications that conform to our relationships and identities. The social graph is enabling a new Web experience that will transform the way we work, learn, and interact across every aspect of our lives." Clara Shih, the Facebook Era
I agree with Clara Shih, and think that the Facebook Era is one of the smartest books about social networks. However, although it is technology that proples the experience the reason social media works is actually very simple. At its heart it's people connecting with each other, telling their stories, sharing their lives. What you share depends on your comfort level of giving pieces of yourself to your digital network.
When those stories and experiences involve brands, organizations, service then it becomes part of "social media marketing." The stories that are tweeted or blogged or put on a Facebook page are exposed to your expanded network. Through digital word-of-mouth your opinions may influence the purchase behavior of people you don't even know.
Sooo .. let me tell you a story. - Today I arrived in a small town in Pennsylvania - Johnstown to speak about social m
edia at PA Development Center's Annual Conference (waves to Elyse Harvey who was wonderful to work with on this project!). I dropped Max off at the vets (with instructions for extra walks and doggie ice cream treats) at 10a and after a long day of travel from ATL to IAD to JST I walked into the Holiday Inn at 6:30p .. famished.
Now I must admit my expectations of Harrigan's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn was .. well .. not very high. In fact, I tried to find another place to eat. Went so far as to do a few Urban Spoon shakes which turned up pretty much only fast food. Sometimes you turn a corner and are delightfully surprised. The venue itself was inviting, Lori, my waitress or is the pc term 'server?' was awesome and most importantly the food was excellent.
To help demonstrate social media and stories for the workshop Lori graciously agreed to have her photo posted, with the amazing dessert tray, on Twitter, Facebook and Diva Marketing. Next time you're in Johnstown, PA head to the Harrigans and ask for Lori .. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Where will this go? Who in my social media network will see a post, tweet or Facebook page? Will the post or tweet make its way into someone's search for Johnstown restaurants or Harrigans? Will Lori make a few extra tips?
So what is great social media marketing? It's all about the stories and the people and the beat goes on and on and on and on ....
05/02/2009
I recently found an article that someone sent me back in 1997. I don't know who gave it to me but I saved the article because while the concept was strange to me the idea intrigued me. It was Tom Peters' - the brand called you. As the fates would have ..soon after reading it I was down-sized from my job with the Georgia Lottery Company. Thoughts that a company would want to hire "more than a resume" were radical 12 years ago.
- Who am I anyway? Am I my resume? That is a picture of a person I don't know. What does he want from me? What should I try to be? So many faces all around, and here we go. I need this job, oh God, I need this show. I CAN DO THAT - A Chorus Line - I Hope I Get It
Girlfriend, there was more - Peters said we should manage our personal brand. What did that mean? I should be wearing Jimmy Choos instead of Gucci or investing in a Mont Blanc instead of Bic pens? Did that extend to non business aspect of my life too? In one of my first resumes I included creative cooking. I was told it wasn't "professional" and took it out. Should I add it back it .. was that part of my brand called me?
But as confusing as it was to figure out how to navigate this new way of presenting myself in 1997, it no way reaches the complexities that the Internet and social media have in impacting the brand called you. A few weeks ago I was talking with my favorite niece about the photos on her Facebook page. Last year Jessica Robyn went from college student to career girl. She's more aware of her online presence, especially after the Facebook debacle of content ownership, these days.
Jessica might error on the more liberal side but what about the people in the Boomer generation who are being "down sized" or thought they were retired and now must enter the job market again? They are learning that their resumes must extend beyond paper (or digital) to LinkedIn, sometimes Facebook and if they are adventurous to Twitter. Finding the right balance is a new tight-rope act for many.
With Diva Marketing I guess I'm getting it right because someone who does understand personal branding, Dan Schawbel, publisher of Personal Branding Magazine, highlighted me in his May issue - titled Female Power Brands. Thanks to Dan and Justin Levy for the interview.
- "In this issue, we’ve interviewed some of the brightest and most talented female brands on the planet .."
I am honored to join divas Sarah Austin, Natalie Gulbis, Laura Ries Valeria Maltoni and Anita Campbell who were also profiled in this edition. In addition, there are articles written by fabulous women: Ann Smarty, Christine B. Whittemore, Cece Salomon-Lee, Nisha Chittal, Judy Martin, Thursday Bram, Maria Reyes-McDavis, Becky Carroll, Pamela Slim, Camille Watson, Natalie MacNeil, and Angela Natividad.
For your reading pleasure .. one of the the answers from my Female Power Brands interview. Sort of like saying that .. Female Power Brands. (I'm thinking of turning the pink boa into a super diva cape! What do you think Connie Reece and Mutha Mae?)
Personal Branding: What role do you think online personal branding will play in getting hired over the next few years?
Toby/Diva Marketing: Looking at how a personal brand fits into an organization's brand, I can't help think of enterprises that have opened social media to their employees. Those companies seem to have a strong sense of "self" e.g., their corporate brand and are secure enough to let their employees' brands complement the enterprise brand.
Personal branding done well extends business into more of a "personal" world. It's a way of taking what is on the inside and courageously letting people see it on the outside. Perhaps (some) women struggle with not being perfect 24-7 especially in the world of business. However, on the flip side it's a way of connecting with people and women do that so well.
As we speak Human Resources is online searching for information about their latest candidates. The perception that someone takes away after reading your posts or tweets or LinkedIn profile is an additional element that will be incorporated into a hiring decision. Ready or not .. you inevitably are creating a personal brand. Why not step back and be a little more strategic? ###
The Internet and social media have changed the personal brand game. We no longer
have the luxury of only building our image, which does impact our
credibility, based on a choice between designer shoes or flip flops.
How do you maintain your authentic self online when Google has become HR's
best friend?
What does personal branding in the 21st century mean when the whole
world knows not only your name but your favorite toys, games, wine,
beer, friends, dating status, doctors and opinions on life in general?
Maybe when Dan and Jessica are in charge of running corporations it won't matter
much but in 2009 it's a factor.
04/21/2009
New social networking communities seem to be on every virtual corner these days. Marketers understand that social media can be a powerful strategy that supports niche or segmentation marketing. However, when brands build out communities it's obviously a business decision that has incurred significant resources - including dollars.
I wondered how do they integrate marketing objectives, while ensuring that the "social" aspects, the heart and soul of the community, are authentically and transparently developed and nurtured? When Chris Kieff offered the opportunity to interview one of his Ripple6 client's from Meredith Corporation's recently launched Mixing Bowl, a food and recipe community - I said yes!
About Mixing Bowl
Editors touch every piece of content that exists on our branded sites. We post recipes after they’ve been triple-tested in our kitchens, write how-to articles, and so on. We don’t run Mixing Bowl that way because we want it to be a site created by home cooks for home cooks.
I’m (Heather Morgan Shott) very present on Mixing Bowl (my username is CoolCookie), and my profile page states that I’m a Mixing Bowl editor, but I’d never censor conversation or edit content. I’m there to answer questions as well as contribute to the community just like a typical member would by posting my own recipes, sharing my opinions, and joining groups. From a business point of view, Ripple6 offers advertisers access to a very sophisticated and extensive analytics system.
About Heather Morgan Shott
I'm the Senior Food Group Manager for the Better Homes and Gardens Network, which includes five websites. On Mixing Bowl, I mix it up like any member might--but if there’s a functionality problem I’ll address it.
For example, we had some members who were unhappy with the way in which our contest application worked when we first launched the site. Entries were randomized so members started having problems finding the recipes they wanted to vote for once lots of recipes were entered. They started posting their complaints on the site, and we responded very quickly by tweaking the system so that the entries were static.
Suddenly ‘thank you CoolCookie’ threads started to pop up. Of course lots of people worked to resolve that issue, but I’m the person that the community knows is listening to them, because I’ve established a very visible presence on the site. When I’m not working, I’m cooking, restaurant hopping, drinking wine, shopping, or hanging out with my husband. We live in New York City.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Mixing Bowl is not only a new social media community but a new brand for Meredith. That said, Meredith’s reach with women is wide and established. How did you use those assets to help build membership and promote the site?
We’ve been working with all of our magazines and websites to promote Mixing Bowl. American Baby, Fitness, Family Circle, and Better Homes and Gardens, for example, have all created groups that tie to specific departments in their magazines. Ladies Home Journal features questions and answers from Knowledge Bowl in each issue. We have another magazine that will be sponsoring a contest on Mixing Bowl this summer. Online, we’ve been promoting Mixing Bowl in newsletters. We’ve got lots more to come; this just marks our very early efforts.
Toby/Diva Marketing: There are other social networks that focus on food and recipes. What is Mixing Bowl’s point of difference? Why would I want to join and spend time on Mixing Bowl versus another community?
Heather Morgan Shott: By filling out your profile, Mixing Bowl can deliver a totally customized experience just for you. For example, if you check off quick and easy, desserts, and cooking for kids as your interests, we'll bubble up all the recipes and groups that mesh with those interests. So we’re offering a vastly different experience than you get on other sites where you log in and see everything that everyone else does, and you literally have to wade through hundreds of pages of information to find what’s relevant to your life.
Toby/Diva Marketing: The quality of online peer-to-peer relationships builds over time. How is Mixing Bowl encouraging and nurturing “community” among with its members?
Heather Morgan Shott:I’m dazzled by so many of the people in our community, and I meet new, amazing members every day. When we launched Mixing Bowl, we tried to start things on the right note by inviting some incredible content creators, such as past winners of cooking contests and bloggers, to get in the mix early on. None of them were professional cooks but they all had a certain level of expertise in cooking or baking, so we knew they’d be able to provide high-quality content. We also knew that they had the kind of passion and enthusiasm that we wanted to foster on Mixing Bowl.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Mixing Bowl is a very rich platform, built by Ripple6, that offers multiple ways for people to contribute their favorite recipes and as we love to say, “Join the conversation.” At this early stage in its development which areas or groups are getting the most activity?
Heather Morgan Shott: There’s no question about it, our community loves to bake. We have an extremely rich Ethnic category, with 16 groups covering a range of different cuisines (Chinese, Colombian, Mexican, French, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Parsi, Persian, Polynesian, Puertorrican, and so on); in this category many of the group leaders are actually based overseas, so they’re posting truly authentic recipes. We’re also seeing tremendous growth in areas that we’d expect—quick and easy, healthy recipes, desserts, and entertaining.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Has that surprised you?
Heather Morgan Shott: So far just what we hoped would happen has happened. Our goal was to engage home cooks who specialized in specific topics. What better way to learn how to cook Indian food than from someone based in Mumbai? Who better to get baking pointers from than an owner of a boutique bakery? Who knows picky eaters better than moms raising kids who are picky eaters? These are real people with real solutions and inspiring ideas.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Since this is part of Meredith’s business strategy can you tell us what constitutes success?
Heather Morgan Shott: Our goal is to continue to grow membership on MixingBowl.com. We’re extremely pleased with where we are right now, and we will continue to work to develop an even richer and more robust community.
Toby/Diva Marketing: How concerned is Meredith with, let’s call it “traditional website metrics?”
Heather Morgan Shott: Page views and unique visitors are extremely important, but our top goal is bringing in new members.
Toby/Diva Marketing: I was watching a video where Dan Hickey, Vice President, Digital Conten, discussed marketers (advertisers) participating within the community to add value. Can you give us some current examples and tell us how Mixing Bowl ensuring transparency?
Heather Morgan Shott: Toby, we’re still working on this. We haven’t really rolled anything out yet… We're cooking up some great stuff, and I can't wait to tell you about those efforts once we've rolled them out. Check back with me in a month or two.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Understanding that the site has been live only a few months, what are some of the lessons you’ve learned at the start-up of this venture?
Heather Morgan Shott: In a community, it’s extremely important to be involved, to mix it up with your members. It doesn’t work to just build a community and then abandon it. You need to listen to what they’re saying and you need to respond quickly. You need to show you care, or they’ll go somewhere else. It’s also critical to be flexible and be willing to change something that isn’t working.
Toby/Diva Marketing: At its heart, or in your heart, what is your vision for Mixing Bowl on a long-term basis?
Heather Morgan Shott: We want MixingBowl.com to become the largest community food site out there. We’d love for it to be the number one destination for everyone who loves to swap recipes and join cooking groups. And we’d love to continue to draw in more members from overseas so that we truly become a place for cooks from around the world to connect.
Heather Morgan Shott On Social Media
It’s thrilling, and I can’t imagine life without it. Oftentimes content isn’t all that exciting until people actually start talking about it – and that’s why social media platforms like Mixing Bowl, Twitter, and Facebook have become so central to our lives. They enable us to take one thought or idea and connect about it with hundreds of others, regardless of where those people are in the world. We gain multiple perspectives, oftentimes from people whose views are vastly different from ours, and in turn our own thoughts and ideas become much richer.
More About Social Network Communities From Diva Marketing
Diva Marketing Talks, BlogTalkRadio, with Liz Strauss & Nancy White
Interview with Nancy White
04/02/2009
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio (BlogTalkRadio) show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show? You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks takes a dive into Social Media Communities or social networks. Liz Strauss, Successful Blog, and Nancy White, Full Circle, are our rock star guests who will explore if relationships built within social networks are real or an illusion. If there is value in social communities then how do you build and nurture them? In other words how do you get the "community" into communities?
Topic for April 2, 2009: Social Media Communities: Real Relationships or Illusions of Friendships?
Time: 6:00p - 6:30p Eastern/ 5:p - 5:30p Central/ 4:00p -4:30p Mountain/ 3:00p - 43:30p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Liz Strauss
Liz (Successful Blog) is a social web strategist and community builder. Coming from a background of publishing, business, and instructional design, Liz understands how people perceive a blog, a product, and an experience — how the head and heart engage to make a fiercely loyal customer. She can articulate what makes things irresistible — what keeps people coming back — from literacy, editorial, design, and marketing sensitivities.
Liz works with businesses, universities, and individuals to help them understand how text, words, and images work in the culture of the social web. She has over 20 years in print, software, and online publishing, and has strategized with publishers in Europe, Australia, the UK, and Ireland. She was recently a featured speaker at the Cass Business School of City University in London and will return in the fall to give a presentation and seminar for students at Oxford University.
Liz is a founder of the highly successful business bloggers conference SOBCon — that gained the attention of BusinessWeek, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Innovation Initiative of the Kellogg School of Business. She has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers and her blog is listed on Alltop-Socialmedia and Alltop-Twitterati
Nancy White
Founder of Full Circle Associates (Full Circle), Nancy helps organizations connect through online and offline strategies. Nancy is an online interaction designer, facilitator and coach for distributed communities of practice, online learning, distributed teams and online communities.
She has a special interest in the NGO/NPO sector. Nancy blogs at http://www.fullcirc.com/ as well as teaches, presents and writes on online facilitation and interaction, social architecture and social media ( http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitymanual.htm). She is co-author with Etienne Wenger and John Smith of the upcoming book “Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities.”
Nancy confesses to online interaction, learning and chocolate addiction. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two grown sons.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Liz Strauss
Some points that interest me right now ...
Malcolm Gladwell talks about it in his book, Outliers: The Story of Successon page 39 when he says
… the thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he o she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder. They do the work.
We're taught to be leaders on someone else's path. What path would be ours if we were never taught or graded?
Irresistible takes head, heard and purpose aligned toward the same goal.
Follow Liz on Twitter Lizstrauss
Complements of Nancy White
1. Is this a community of friends/colleagues or a network? If the latter, how much of your personal identity is useful and what should you keep to yourself? (explore issues of boundaries, transparency and identity) Know how to figure out which is what!
2. Experiment - many of the uses of these tools are just emerging. But don't think you have to play with all of them. Better yet, experiment WITH others.
3. Be clear on what you need/want to do and get out of social networks. Purpose drives clarity to a path of useful participation!
Follow Nancy on Twitter NancyWhite
03/19/2009
Diva Marketing Talks is
a live, internet radio show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic about
social media marketing. Why? To help you understand how to participate
in the "new" conversation without getting blown-up. Miss today's show?
You can pick it up as a podcast or listen on your computer.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks explores the impact of social media sponsored conversations from both sides of the virtual fence: brand and content creator. "Auntie" Melanie Notkin, founder of the innovative community for aunts, SavvyAuntie and Scott Monty, Global Digital Communications Ford Motor, discuss the impact accepting money or products/services can have on social credibility. We'll also talk about where blogger relations and pay per click fits into the picture. Question: Are social media content creators the new NASCAR drivers?
Topic for March 19, 2009: Do Sponsored Conversations Make Social Media Content Creators the New NASCAR Drivers?
Time: 7:00p - 7:30p Eastern/ 6:p - 6:30p Central/ 5:00p -5:30p Mountain/ 4:00p - 4:30p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Guests
Melanie Notkin is the founder and CEO of SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for cool aunts, great aunts, godmothers and all women who love kids. Before launching Savvy Auntie, in July 2008, Melanie was an interactive marketing and communications executive for global Fortune 500 companies, including New York Times Digital and American Express, as well as L'Oréal.
Melanie is a regular panelist on the Strategy Room on FoxNews.com and a contributing editor to Toy Wishes Magazine. She and Savvy Auntie have been featured on NBC, CBS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, The Charlotte Observer, Huffington Post, Mashable and TechCrunch, among others.
SavvyAuntie.com was ranked as one of Springwise's Top 10 Entreprenerial Ideas of the Year (2008) and Melanie was recently named a Heeb Magazine HEEB 100.
Find Melanie at Twitter Blog SavvyAuntie and of course on the SavvyAuntie Community
Scott Monty describes himself as a "Renaissance Man." Although he is a marketer and communications professional focused on the digital industry his career spans a number of industries from healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, to communications. Some of Scott’s past clients include American Airlines, Audi, Starwood Hotels, IBM Healthcare & Life Sciences, Boston Scientific, The Coca-Cola Company, Millipore, Motorola and Kraft Foods,
Scott is currently the head of social media for Ford Motor Company, where he holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. While his role is based in the Corporate Communications area, he is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company. From blogger relations to marketing support to customer service to internal communications and more, social media touches many facets of Ford business, and Scott is there to ensure it is consistent across all of them.
Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about issues relevant to the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events. Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management.
Find Scott at Twitter, The Social Media Marketing Blog The Baker Street Blog,
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Auntie Melanie Notkin
1. Trust is something you earn. And it's the most valuable asset you have. Deserve it or fail.
2. As a company, you can't wake up one day and decide you are going to be authentic and transparent. It has to be something you were born with. And if you weren't born with it, apologize and be authentic and transparent about your journey to authenticity and transparency.
3. Social media and digital media enable us to be transparent and authentic. The minute you hire an intern to tweet for you is the minute you give the steering wheel to a student driver. From another country. Where they drive on the other side of the road. You'll never make it back home
Complements of Scott Monty
1. You know the phrase from Glengarry Glen Ross , "Always Be Closing"? Forget it. Instead, your mantra should be "Always Be Listening." Thanks to the open nature of the web and the ability for any one of us to create content, we have the ability to track and understand what they're saying about us. Listening is the first step to providing value for your community. If you know what they're saying and what their expectations are, you're well along the way.
2. Give your community a unique experience. Most likely, you work in a market where you're competing for your customers' attention, whether you sell consumer packaged goods, consulting services, or technology. If you can create an opportunity for them to learn or get something from you that no other competitor can offer them, they'll remember you better and come back for more.
3. Be human above all else. Let people know that there are real people working for your company, whether its a small business or a multinational entity. If you can let their personalities shine through and make it easy for people to relate to them, they'll be more likely to trust you with their business.
02/27/2009
Friday Fun is Diva Marketing's virtual happy hour from cosmos to Jack to lemonade. A waiting for the weekend 'playground' time to be sophisticated-silly. Or sometimes just plain silly.
Too many wonderful things happening in the virtual world not to pass along from fun contests to help non profit causes to quirky ways to grow your business.
NonProfit - For The Heart
Alex Brown is no stranger to social media. In 2005, he created one the first higher ed blogs, Wharton MBA Admissions Blog, He was one of the first to incorporate student blogs as a support tactic when he taught marketing at University of Delaware. But it was his beyond successful blog for Barbaro the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner who was put to rest too soon. One could say that blog changed Alex's life and let to a mission to create awareness about the slaughter horse issue.
Alex Brown Racing is sponsoring a YouTube contest. Videos will be accepted from Tuesday, February 10 to Noon Friday April 10. The grand prize is $1,000 to be donated to the horse rescue organization of choice of the winning entry. Even if you don't enter, stop by and view the entries .. some wonderful videos have been submitted.
The Animal Rescue Site is challenged to sustain its click campaign. A click will help provide food and care to sick pets. And then because you're feeling so good to have done good go to PawFun and design a t-shirt to show off your own pet. If you hurry you can save 30%!
Small Business Success - For The Head
Ideablob is one of the most innovative uses of combining social media with small business. There are two parts. One: Within the public forum entrepreneurs ask the business community at-large for advice. Two: The community votes on the best business concept. The $10,000 prize is no small accomplishment to win with stiff competion. The current contest closes on 3-31-09. I had the honor of being one of the featured guest advisors. The site is sponsored, very discreetly, by Advanta.
When if comes to helping small business owners Heidi Richards Mooney is one of the champions. Her online publication and community WE magazine for women, has influenced thousands of women (and men) with its rich content, online conferences and networking support. Heidi recently released the eBook Quirky Marketing Calendar 2009 as a resouce for ways to create fun, innovativemarketing strategies.
So you've got an idea for a light web-based business and didn't win the $10K Ideablob contest. My pal Dave Williams is involved in a new angel fund venture that might be right for you if you are a small business owners in the Atlanta area. Want to learn more? Shotput Ventures is holding an open house 3-3-9. If nothing else their Facebook invite page sure looks like it will be good networking!
Looking for a couple more social media and marketing tips ? Check my guest post, in Tsufit's Step Into The Spotlight series.
In today’s world where clutter is the norm and marketing managers are scrambling to get their brands noticed stepping to the side of the lime light just might be the way to get into the spot light. By that I mean before you take center stage understand the basics:
1. Who are your customers and prospects?
2. What makes your brand unique to your customers?
3. Where do your customers hang out?
The answers, to what may first appear as simple questions, become the cornerstone of your successful marketing strategy. Traditionally organizations discovered those elusive secrets through marketing research studies or mining internal data sources. However, social media research or listening to the raw conversations of your customers provides marketers with an additional resource. Read more at - Step into the Spotlight post
The Arts - For The Soul
The arts are recognizing that social media is a wonderful way to engage and build an audience. By letting patrons glimpse a view from behind the curtain they can but buts in the seats. Broadway is catching on too! Sure have come a long way from when Elisa Camahort, the fonder of BlogHer, launch the blog for 42nd Street Moon (Theatre) in 2004. Jane Fonda is sharing her backstage and onstage experiences on her blog and in tweets. The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta often runs contests on their blogs. Ford's Theatre is on YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and Twitter!
When it comes to theatre and innovation the (Second Life) SL Shakespeare Company must win the Virtual Tony for innovation. The mission of this troupe of professional actors is to make Shakespeare cool again! The performances take place "in-world" at SL Globe Theatre wich is a virtual reconstruction of the Original Globe Theatre.
The SL Shakespeare Company’s long-awaited open-ended run premiers Sunday, March 1 at 1 PM PST, and will continue indefinitely every Sunday at 1 PM PST and every Tuesday at 6 PM PST at the SL Globe Theatre. Read more at the SL Shakespeare blog.
.. and so we'll let Shakespeare have the final word.
No profit grows where no pleasure is ta'en;
In brief, sir, study what you most affect.
William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew
02/18/2009
One might say that my 22-year old niece Jessica Robyn has “grown-up
in social media.” She was actively involved in Live Journal when she
was in middle school. She joined Facebook when she began college in
2004. Her 491 friends are truly people that she knows and has allowed
into her virtual world.
Early this week Facebook changed the
rules of their game I was curious about Jessica’s reaction. Then when
Facebook changed the rules back I was even more curious. Jess graciously
agreed to an interview for Diva Marketing to share her views.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Why did you join Facebook?
Jessica Robyn:
I resisted at first once my college was first added to Facebook since I
saw everyone competing for friends, but December of 2004 I caved. Once
I joined I saw an outlet to connect with old friends and I could upload
photos so that all my friends could see what I was up to. It was a
great tool and I could adjust my privacy settings so I knew who was
seeing what sections of my profile.
Toby/Diva Marketing: What sort of things do you enjoy most about Facebook?
Jessica Robyn:
I highly enjoy being able to connect with old friends and see how they
are doing through recent pictures. I got to reconnect with a friend
whom I had not seen since I was in middle school courtesy of Facebook.
We were able to send messages through Facebook and got to know each
other again. She soon after came to visit me while in college, and we
still have maintained our friendship since.
Toby/Diva Marketing: What was your first reaction when you heard that Facebook had changed
its terms of service and now your content belonged to them?
Jessica Robyn:
I definitely felt betrayed. This tool I have been using as an outlet
and had control of my privacy settings went behind my back and decided
that they would be able to profit off of my picture? I think that is
absurd! It was not in the contract I signed up with and I was not
formerly informed by Facebook of this change, but rather through a
forwarded e-mail from a friend.
Toby/Diva Marketing: What did you think might happen to the hundreds of photos of you and your friends that you posted on your Facebook page?
Jessica Robyn:
I honestly hope nothing, but if Facebook can sell them, who knows. They
could get into the wrong hands that way and it could be dangerous.
Toby/Diva Marketing: How did that make you feel?
Jessica Robyn: I felt like one of my friends who I trusted changed their entire personality. I did not know what to think anymore.
Toby/Diva Marketing:
Now we learn that Facebook listened to their customers and will go back
to their original user agreement. Do you trust Facebook less or do you
trust Facebook more?
Jessica Robyn: I
trust them less now. They are still capable of changing something so
much on the website without giving users fair warning. I think going
back to the original was just a cop-out for now since they are planning
on re-writing the changes.
Toby/Diva Marketing: When it comes to posting content will you do anything differently on
your Facebook page now than you would have say last week?
Jessica Robyn: Absolutely, I feel like now I need to censor myself and the content of "my" page since it is no longer "mine"
anymore. I felt very comfortable posting almost anything, but knowing
that Facebook could do what they please with it completely disrespects
my privacy and trust in them
Toby/Diva Marketing:
A little off topic but for my marketer friends., do you ever go to Fan
Pages on Facebook that are about brands or products. For example
Victoria Secrets has a Facebook page do you ever pop in? Why or why not?
Jessica Robyn:
I personally don't since I see Facebook as simple what its name is,
face-book. I use it strictly for connecting with my friends. One friend
who I am doing some work for asked me to become a fan of their web site
and even that I declined since it is not what I use Facebook for.
Toby/Diva Marketing: Do you ever click on the ads? Why or why not?
Jessica Robyn: I honestly do not really notice the ads anymore. I just click through Facebook as I normally do.
Toby/Diva Marketing: One last question to wrap this one. If you could sit down with Mark Zuckerberg what would you tell him.
Jessica Robyn: I would explain to Mark that the reason I use Facebook is because it respects my privacy. I would not be using it if I thought he would use my image or some private messages I exchange for his own benefit.
02/13/2009
Last Valentine's Day I asked a few marketers how to develop great business relationships. The responses were insightful and smart.
With so much of our time spent in the online world I wondered how people were developing digital relationships. I posted on Diva Marketing and sent off a tweet asking ..
What is your "secret" to building digital relationships through social media?
It seems appropriate that the response are a Valentine's Day post. My heartfelt thanks to the people who responded to my question and agreed to share their "secrets" with you.
10 Secrets to Building Digital Relationships
1. Be Yourself
2. Integrity is important
3. Generosity is a mind set that you make happen by adding value.
4. Play nicely with each other.
5. Keep in touch on a consistent basis and be responsive.
6. Listening is critical .. it is not all about you.
7. People want to feel that they matter and you value the relationship.
8. It takes time to develop relationships in the offline or digital world. Finding a new best friend in one tweet is rare.
9. People may feel they know you even though they don't actively participate with you in a conversation. Take care what you say.
10. Simple is some times the best direction.
Susan Cartier Liebel, Build A Solo Practice, LLC Solo Practice University - You absolutely have to be yourself and do so with integrity. Be generous with your information and always play nice. It is very easy to get so comfortable in your online relationships you forget there are many who still don't know you but are listening. Be cognizant of your reputation at all times because they are made or destroyed online.
Brandy Nagel, Marketing With No Money - Say exactly what you mean. Try everything once. Focus on what works with your natural beat.
Sunny Cervantes, Confessions Of A Marketing Addict - I keep in touch with my virtual friends and business associates regularly and constantly.
Donna Lynes-Miller Delicious Destinations GourmetStation - Relevant content & don't over do it!
Bryan Person BryanPerson.com LiveWorld - My best tip is to link to and direct people to the good work of others online.
Chris Brogan, chrisbrogan.com - Be human, be helpful, and give more than you get.
Katie Paine, KD PAINE - Always be yourself, your usual mulit-dimensional, multi-faceted, fascinating to some, annoying to others, self. Whether you're responding or posting, be true to the values that make you a human. What would be even more interesting is to measure the relationships that people purport to have ..
Dana VanDen Heuvel, MarketingSavant - I believe that part of social media relationship building is about the mindset you take into the relationship. I love to help people. I have consistently found that if I approach social media connections with the mentality of "how can I be useful here", the relationship always starts out on the right foot.
Jeff Pontes, Strategy Social - Be real, contribute to the conversation and provide something of value. Give more than you take. Social media can be used to shamelessly promote oneself or it can be used to provide and gain real value.
Aerocles - @aerocles - Define yourself through your posts. Anyone can retweet or post a link to a cnn article, but sharing information that isn't readily accessible to everyone is way to both demonstrate your value and illustrate an aspect of your personality
Bill Flitter, Pheedo - Listen, listen, listen. We all have an agenda and non is more important then the colleagues and friends I connect with.
Julie Squires - Marketing Snacks - Here a little, there a little in the context of a low information diet.
Janet Lee Johnson The Art of Marketing - Being honestly engaged in social media (by using it myself) and completely transparent about relationships (sponsorships, etc.) are key to success. You have to give to get, and to be "in" the digital realm to have and build relationships. I'm surprised constantly at the naivete of "emerging" participants who expect instant success.
Eric Doyle, Eric Doyle on Facebook - Be yourself -- just like in the offline world.
Kami Huyse, Communication Overtones - There is no real secret, except to say that people like to be valued. So, I try to value them by commenting in their blogs, linking to them on Twitter, replying to their comments and being available when asked.
Richard Binhammer, aka Richardatdell/Around the Web with Richardtadell - Listen, learn, converse and connect
C.B. Whittemore, Flooring The Consumer - Humbleness of responsiveness: being truthful, earnest and passionate about what you discuss on your platform, and welcoming interaction however it takes place [which means responding promptly] - something you do magnificently!
Marc Meyer, Direct Marketing Observations - The secret is there is no secret. The same things that apply in the offline world work in the digital. Being real and being you always works best. We have a saying in the offline world when referring to certain people and that is "that someone is good people", and that means that the person is just a good person; and you'd be surprised how well that translates in the digital world. I think the other secret if there has to be one, is that people need to leave the "take" mentality at the door when they login. In other words, you dont always have to be "on" and marketing, or pushing your message- you'd be surprised how much can be accomplished by just being the real you. The giving you, the honest you. the you that we always hope to encounter...
What is your "secret" to building digital relationships?
02/09/2009
Life gets hectic and sometimes little niceties get put aside and then too often forgotten. Vir
tual roses and
heartfelt belated thanks to Shel Israel, C.B. Whittemore and Denise Scammon for their kindness.
On new years eve Shel Israel, Global Neighbourhoods, ended the year for me with virtual fireworks when he posted our interview in the Twitterville Notebook. Shel's notes will form the basis of his second book. The first, Naked Conversations written with Robert Scobel, has become a classic about corporate blogging. I was honored to be included in the chapter Consultants Who Get It. Here's a question from my Twitterville Notebook interview with Shel.For more visit Twitterville Notebook.
Shel Israel: Do you still see social media tools as part of the marketing tool arsenal or has your thinking. umm... evolved from that perspective?
Toby: My philosophy is that marketing is the doorway to the customer and, from that perspective, social media plays an important role in reaching and keeping in contact with a brand’s community. However, I’ve seen companies such as Zappos, Comcast and Dell successfully use social media to support customer service so perhaps there are more “homes” where social media can reside than in marketing. I think customer services should be a part of marketing but that’s another topic for another day. In addition, technical support reps have been blogging for many years yet another residence for social media.
One of the lessons that I’ve learned is social media initiatives have the best chance of success if there is a champion who is responsible for the implementation and also understands and believes that social media is a new way of conducting business. Social media not only influences the way we interact with customers but with people within the enterprise. Developing cross silo communication processes are critical to ensuring that information derived from on-going listening and talking with customers reaches the right internal people. Equally important is letting customers know they have been heard and responding appropriately.
What I’d like to see is social media holding a place of its own at the c-suite table. I envision a Chief Social Media Officer who helps orchestrate the initiatives; where the position is structured more as a jazz leader than a classical conductor. If you know of any organization looking for a “social media jazz leader” let me know!
C.B. Whittemore, Flooring The Consumer, included me in her thought provoking New & Old Social Media Series. I join Mack Collier, Ann Handley, Steve Woodruff, Amber Naslund, Lewis Green, Laurence (Lolly) Borel, Susan Abbott (with more to come!) talking the new conversations in blogs, Twitter, social networks and so on. Here is a a preview of one my answers; for the rest click over to Flooring The Consumer.
C.B.: What 5 suggestions do you have for companies to implement so they can more effectively bridge old media with new media and connect with end users?
Toby:
1. Begin with a plan that includes goals and success measures. Don’t be afraid to include success measures that are outside the box of traditional metrics. As you build that plan consider how you can use social media to support current old media/traditional strategies. For example can you extend an article in an eZine with a blog post to carry on the conversation in greater detail?
2. Develop a budget that includes dollar and people resources. Build your programs to take into consideration human capital to support the implementation. If you don’t, not only will you be frustrated, but you will fail before you hit the publish key.
3. Understand the limitations and the benefits of the tools, or tactics, before you consider implementing. Listen and watch the rhythms of the social elements (blogs, vlogs, social networks, Twitter, etc.) you are considering before you create your social media strategy.
4. Determine if your target audience is involved in that specific platform. Then if they are listen to their conversations within each of the new media avenues that you want to explore. How are your customers using the platforms? The best Facebook strategy will fall flat if your community is not involved.
5. Bring all the people who will be involved in the project around a table for a strategic “red flag” conversation. The up front investment will save you dollars, time and tears.
You never know where social media will take you. Denise Scammon's comment on a Diva Marketing post led to an opportunity to contribute to the SunJournal's special section Women's Journal. My article - Expand your business network through social media was written to help people new to social media understand how simple it is to incorporate blogs, social networking, Twitter, etc. into a busy schedule.
A few tips to help you jump-start building your digital relationship network:
1. Explore a few social networks. When you build your profile, to prevent spam, consider using a different e-mail address from your business or personal e-mail. The following Big Three networks have become the core platforms for many business professionals.
LinkedIn is focused on business networking, making it an ideal first step into social media.
Twitter allows only 140 characters per message or "tweet." Organizations are using Twitter for customer service support, public relations conferences and rapid response answers to questions.
Facebook offers the option to create personal pages and group pages for brand "fans."
2. Don't feel obligated to follow/friend everyone who knocks on your virtual door. Sometimes less is more. Take time to read profiles to help you determine who you want to be a part of your community.
3. Participate in discussions in the same way as you would in the off-line world. Be yourself. Let your personality come through in your words, on videos or in a podcast interview.
4. Adding value to the conversation will reward you faster and better than a continuous stream of promotion about your products or company.
The results: you'll develop a global network that you can tap into for resources, information, support, advice in which you can control where and when you meet-up. Don't be surprised if the connections you make turn into real friendships that lead to off-line meetings!
