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.
Call this one bits and pieces from around the blogosphere. But first .. Diva As A Super Hero - SuperGirl!
Supergirl
80%
Green Lantern
75%
Catwoman
65%
Superman
60%
Wonder Woman
55%
Iron Man
55%
Robin
47%
Spider-Man
45%
The Flash
45%
Hulk
35%
Batman
25%
Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.
Now a few bits and pieces from around the blogosphere.
The divine Millie Garfield (81 years young), My Moms Blog & Ronnie Bennett (60 something), Time Goes By were interviewed on Retirement Living Television’s about ElderBlogging on The Daily Apple show. For those who don't know Millie or Ronnie .. they are two rockin' Divas!
Tris Hussey added a new blogging gig, at PodTech, to his repertoire.
Paul Chaney, Strategic Blogging, lauched a podcast series BizBlogBuzz. His first interview is with Phil Greenwood, one of the founders of LoudLaunch - a PayPerPost/ReviewMe company.
More from PodTech - Robert Scoble has taken geek vlogging on the the campaign trail with an invitation to trail Democatic presidential candidate John Edwards around the country.
Shel Israel is asking for your feedback on his new book about Global Neighborhoods. BTW this is one book I'm really looking forward to reading. He seems to be spinning it around stories of how people are using social media. If you want to read a few stories about how social media has touched and changed lives stop by Blogger Stories. If you want to tell yours drop me a comment.
Friday and Saturday the moon is in Taurus, a great position for fun, food, drink, and general debauchery. New Years Eve the moon moves into Gemini, friends, old and new can talk up a storm.
The New Year gives us pause to consider what we want to do in the upcoming year. With the Sun every year conjunct the node of Jupiter over optimistic and sometimes unrealistic resolutions are made. Yet Jupiter wants us to think big, just remember we are restricted by time on the earth plane, consider how much time and effort your goals will take before you commit, then you will feel freer to pick the ones that will fit into your current life as you work towards change.
High search rankings are a big deal for a lot of bloggers - especially those who use their blog as a marketing /business strategy. Be careful if you're in the pay per post mode. Seems that our friends at Google don't like pay per post. In fact, paid text links can cause your blog to be devalued.
Matt Cutts of Google - "Google wants to do a good job of detecting paid links. Paid
links that affect search engines (whether paid text links or a paid
review) can cause a site to lose trust in Google."
As for me, unless clearly stated, paid posts muck up the issue of trust and credibility; and I can't help but think that it hurts using social media/blogs as a research tool. Wonder what the folks at the social media research firms think.
Girlfriend, ho ho ho and merry xmas to Diva Marketing Blog! Diva Marketing has made it to the Z list as posted on Seth Godin's Blog, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Blogosphere, and Orbit Now. Mack Collier, The Viral Garden, kicked off this meme on 12-12 and it's making the blogosphere rounds. I feel I should join in but it won't be until after the holiday wrapping and baking and eating and drinking. In the meantime check out Diva's BlogRoll and Links for awesome blog reads.
Seth says, "There is no A list, so there can't be a Z list .. only good blogs." However, Seth created a plexo for the Z list blogs - "Blogs you might want to check out but haven't heard of." You can add your blog and vote. Not sure what you vote for .. guess who is the best Z list blogger? Now that sounds rather A listy to me.
By the way, seems that Seth considers his blog to be part of the Z list club as does Gaping Void, Tom Peters, Fast Company and Micro Persuasion. Might this be a smash-up A-Z list? With enough spiked eggnog who cares?
Sidebar: Diva Marketing is listed as bloomberg_marketing on the Squidoo site. If you are looking for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's blog or Bloomberg.com's blog .. this is def not the place!
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.
Girlfriend, one of my most fav movies - holiday or not - is Miracle on 34th Street. I even like the new updated version; but the film with Maureen Sullivan and Natalie Wood is still The Classic Christmas Flick - a little romance, a little conflict, Santa, children, imagination, hope for the future and simple miracles. However, it is also one of the best lessons in customer service.
Favorite Miracle on 34th Street quote: Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don't you see?
It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for. It's
kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles.
Miracle on 34th Street offers a great lesson in customer service and in the philosophy of social media marketing.
Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the only things that are worthwhile.
For your reading pleasure, here is a post I'd like to share with you from the 2004 Diva Marketing archives. Enjoy .. and happy holidays to you and yours!
It was
Christmas 1947. Before blogs, buzz marketing and building online community strategies.
The CEO of a major retail organization briefs the company's ad department.
"No high pressuring and forcing the customer to take something he
doesn't want. We'll be known as the helpful store. The friendly store.
The store with a heart. The store that places public service ahead of
profit. The plan sounds idiotic and impossible .. consequently, we'll
make more profit than ever before."
Fast forward 59 years. The use of the internet is one of the most
exciting sales and marketing strategies we've seen in the last 59
years. However, in this model there is no room for high-pressure sales
techniques. The customer is in control of the sales experience. The customer is also in control of the marketing message.
Include a blog strategy to an internet marketing mix and yet another
dimension is added. The company steps out from behind the shadows of
traditional PR, customer service and research (all valid in their own
right) and declares it's ready to listen and learn from prospects and
customers .. on the their terms.
It's not afraid (ok. perhaps there are a few wobbles) to show the
world that there might be a few warts. That's a giant step from old
world marketing to open communication new world marketing.
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible .. consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
As the year 2007 approaches, high-tech developments spin even faster
taking the possibilities of internet marketing into areas that were
impossible in '47 or '57 or even '06.
Imagine a site that holds current inventory and pricing, allows for on-line financing and results in better, faster cheaper processing.
Imagine a site that allows for product customization.
Imagine a site where you can start a conversation with a real person about what matters to you regarding a product or service.
Imagine a site where you can talk to a real person who doesn't respond with an FAQ list.
Imagine a site where you can actually help change the direction of a product or service before it's even launched.
Imagine a company that doesn't close the door (or comment section) to you or your ideas.
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible .. consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
It's interesting to compare a 1940's film, where finding solutions
to customers' problems was perceived as unique, to 2006 where finding
solutions to customers' problems is considered ingenious.
The techniques may have changed. New buzz words may be added to the
mix. Bells and whistles may be a little louder. However, after all is
said and done, the premise remains the same:
Listen
Understand
Add value
Do what it takes to go the extra mile to delight your customer
The plan sounds idiotic and impossible .. consequently, we'll make more profit than ever before.
So Very Bloggy!
And with that I wish you and yours a very merry holiday season!
Take time to relax and have some fun after being harried from working and then shopping and decorating and wrapping packages and, on and on.
It maybe difficult to get anything accomplished this coming week after the Christmas Holiday and then preparing for New Years Eve festivities.
On Wed. Mercury enters Capricorn. The mind has a chance to settle down and focus on practical matters like “How on ea rth am I going to pay for all of those presents?” I wish everyone Many Blessings, Happiness and Joy this holiday season.
Sidebar: Special joyful wishes to my dear Astro Diva Bloggers friends Paula & Donna who have put a unique spin on Diva Marketing's Friday Fun. Girlfriend, I ask you where else in the biz blogosphere can you find business astrology?
Great print ad from AstraZenca. My favorite lines - "We'll be the first to admit we don't have all the answers. But as a pharmaceutical company, we recognize that when you trust us to help you, we feel we owe you the same trust in return."
To me that implies mutual respect. After the last Diva Marketing post, it's nice to see that some marketers get that good marketing does not = customer manipulation.
From the website AZandME.com - "This web site, AZ&Me, is our first step toward realizing our goal of creating a more personal, more positive healthcare experience. Are we there yet? Certainly not we've only just begun.
What we are wondering now is, where do we go from here?"
AstraZeneca, glad you asked. How about a step into social media with a blog or a podcast or two or how about a vlog that brings the static content to life?
Toss of a pink boa to AstraZeneca for taking the first steps in understanding that the new world of marketing means building relationships with customers not jumping through trick hoops.
Sidebar: Let's take a from AstraZeneca. What can you do to let your customers know that you trust and respect them? So very bloggy!
No wonder why people distrust marketing and advertising. Sidebar: Marketing News is a publication of the American Marketing Association. As the keeper of the marketing grail .. a lump of goal in AMA's Xmas stocking.
On my way back from Boston yesterday I picked up a copy of Time at Logan Airport. After playing with the Mylar cover and hoping that the Person Of The Year 2006 .. which is me - you - and everyone else who has access to the Big WWW .. didn't really belong in a carnival sideshow, I jumped into Richard Stengel's (managing editor)To Our Reader's column. It was my first of several hints that Time's understanding of social media is more like the acts under the big top than walking the midway with the people.
Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate the visibility lift that Time has given social media. However, in taking a closer look at the Time Person of The Year issue, I'm not sure that Time gets it.
It's the little things that make the difference. Girlfriend, first I want to know why
Richard Stengel's Mylar image was not blurred or disorted like mine or yours but looked like a professional photo. Oh .. perhaps because it was not a Mylar image but it was an air brushed professionally shot photograph. Very un bloggy.
Stengel wrote, "Journalists once had the exclusive power of taking people to places they'd never been." Hmm .. my kindergarten teacher told me that books would do that .. perhaps I was too busy coloring .. I don't recall mention of journalists or reporters having exclusivity on that concept. Very un bloggy.
Time dedicated over 30 pages to 2006Person Of The Year. Cool. Lots of great stories about people who are using technologies to tell the world about their lives. However, what I found even more interesting was that the Person Of The Year - YOU - didn't spill over into Time's stories like People Who Mattered or Farewell or 10 Best Movies, Books, TVShows, Albums, Sports Moments. So okay perhaps YouTube videos don't make it as a real flicks and social mediaauthors are not really important enough to be part of the 10 Best and no YOU people mattered enough to be sung Farewell to ..
That was my last tip off that Time didn't get it. There was no integration. Rather it was like a carnival show with YOU as part of the side show and THEM as the main acts under the big top. Oh well, as Time's last story, Andy Was Right, reinforced. It's an Andy Warhol 15-minute of fame world .. and YOU now have had yours. Collectively YOU might be important but not too many of YOU will cross over into Time's People Who Matter.
But don't fret .. in addition to some interestingblogposts about the You as the Time Person of the Year, it's great for the late night comedians. And there's always 2007 for Time to get it.
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.
It's been a crazed week with minimum access to the old internet and more airports than I would like to see in the course of days. More on the Healthcare Summit (very well received) and the DC Bloggers Wonk (a blast!) later .. promise.
Today is Friday Fun so let's play a little virtual "tag" or as bloggers like to call it a meme. These silly, fun games serve a larger purpose in the virtual world. They help build community and give us an excuse to get to know each other a bit better.
This week I was 'memed' twice .. by Shel Israel, Naked Conversations, and Nedra Weinreich, Spare Change, on the latest to make the rounds. This go round the game is What 5 Things You Don't Know About Me. Here goes .. a few silly things about moi.
Update Jan 9 -07: Thanks Chris Brown, Branding & Marketing, for the tag on this one too. Guess this game keeps going round.
1. I love musical comedies, Doris Day movies and yes, Christmas songs .. anyone for "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ... ?"
2. It took me almost a week to decide to keep little Maxie, who was the best gift from a client I ever received; now I don't know what I'd do without him .. anyone for "a little puppy love?"
3. Grocery shopping is a fun activity .. I'll go extra miles to find a cool store. Trader Joe's opening in Atlanta was cause for celebration .. anyone for "$3 buck chuck wine" (due to distribution regulations (read: politics an extra buck is added to Atlanta's cheap wine?"
4. I toured the Greek Isles for free on a windjammer cruise .. anyone for "a little Retsina?"
5. Mystery and espionage novels are my traveling buddies .. anyone for "a Robert Parker - Spencer novel?"
Today Mercury squares Uranus. Your mind may become very scattered. You may find yourself nervous or anxious. This isn’t a good day for making any major business decisions or talking with important clients. You will likely decide to act on impulse then change your mind. Many ideas may pop into your head and then pop out just as quickly. Jot all the ideas down. Sort through your list next week and implement the best ideas at the New Moon Wed. 12/20.
The Sun enters the ruling sign of business – Capricorn – as we begin the first day of winter at the Winter Solstice Thurs. 12/21. This is good for any restructuring you may need to do.
Been thinking about Blogger Relations lately. Not necessarily about 'how to pitch' bloggers to blog about your latest and greatest but how to develop long-term relationships with bloggers. Thought I'd post my notes to self .. to test the ideas.
Bloggers Are Different From Journalists
Traditionally (although a business blogger may have guidelines to follow) bloggers do not answer to an editor or publisher.
However, the ecosystem of the blogoshpere frequently serves as the “check and balance” to ensure integrity, in terms of honesty and transparency, are maintained.
For most bloggers, their underling mandate is to be true to themselves .. not to an outside source or publication or company.
Blogger's Role in The Ecosystem As An Influencer
People who blog are frequently the ying to their reader’s yang.
Although both readers and bloggers share an enthusiasm and passion about a niche topic – from politics, to computers to ergonomics, it is the blogger’s role to jump-start the conversation through posts that provide insights, commentary, wit, and knowledge.
It is the blogger’s ability to add value to the overall conversation and her/his ability to engage with others (bloggers and non blogger readers) through comments, trackbacks, links, online and offline mentions (word-of-mouth), and often a position in an online community of bloggers that implies an influencer position.
The combination of these elements brings a new type of visibility and influence that may mirror mainstream media but is different.
Elements That Make An Influencer Blogger
Credibility - quality of ideas, connections and credentials
Reach - search engine pick-up
Linkings/trackbacks - involvement and engagement in community
Comments - relevancy of topic, engagement, community, reach
Mentions in blogs, websites, mainstream media - quality and relevancy of ideas, content, research
RSS subscriptions
Visitor time and depth of page reads
Ability to build ‘community’
Most important relevancy to reader
New Game In Town
However, social media is a different philosophy from that of traditional media.
Bloggers want more personal connections than most journalists.
Bloggers do not want to be ‘pitched’ … they want to be part of an on-going collaboration or partnership.
Blogger Relations Programs
Build on the values of social media
Establish credibility and trust by creating relationships
Position (you/company) as resource that can provide value added information
Develop long-range programs that engage and develop the relationships
Provide "special blogger only something" - TBD by strategy and needs
Bring bloggers together to discuss related issues
Include bloggers in customer feedback circles
Respect bloggers' time
Courtesy and appreciation - thank the blogger for her participation and help
Developing a blogger relations program is more labor intensive than a customized email request or oh no! a media release no matter how spiffed up. However, my thoughts are that if you identify blogggers who write (and care) about your niche and involve them in an on-going relationship you create win-win-win situations. Win for the blogger. Win for the blogger's readers. Win for you/your company/your client.
Next week the social media energy will be soaring in our country's capital. Washington DC is playing host for two blog/word of mouth marketing events. Wonder what will happen when thousands (well ok - hundreds) of bloggers converge to talk .. you are not in control of the message! .. the city may never be the same again.
The Medical Blog Network is sponsoring - The Healthcare Blogging Summit - the First-Ever Conference on Healthcare blogging. Dmitriy Kruglyak, with some behind the scene help from Fard Johnmar, Carol Kirshner and the Marketing Diva <moi>, has put together an innovative and important event.
Sidebar: Dmitrity continues to amaze me with his vision and focus aimed at helping the healthcare professionals understand the impact and importance that social media has and have on the industry. Dmitrity, Fard and Carol are 3 people to watch as this space emerges. Count me in for this ride.
Date: December 11, 2006 Place: Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, co-located at Consumer Health World
WOMMA is bringing 2 events back-to-back into DC. Word of Mouth Research Symposium on the 11th and Word of Mouth Marketing Summit on the 12th and 13th. By the way, if you want a good book to read
on social media or word of mouth marketing - check out the WOMMA's authors'/speakers' books.
Calling all bloggers who will be in Washington DC on Monday December 11th! The Medical Network is hosting a Bipartisan Blogger's Wonk. What's a "wonk?" Glad you asked! A "wonk" is a happy hour party where good will and good cheer flow freely. It's a buy your own .. but share the fun.
Date: December 11, 2006 Time: 7p to ... ??? Place: Open City - with free wifi! if anyone wants to live blog the wonk. 2331 Calvert St. NW Washington, DC 20008 202.332.2331 Woodley Park
On the RSVP list are: Katya Andresen, Leslie Jump, Debbie Weil, Josh Hallett, Marianne Richmond, TrisGrier, CK (Christina Kerley), Dmitriy Kruglyak, Fard Johnmar, Carol Kirshner, Shahid N. Shah, Craig Lefebvre
