09/11/2007
Diva Marketing Talks and Diva Marketing (blog) is dedicated to the
people who were touched by 9-11. That means all of us but especially to
those who were so brave and giving.
Today's Diva Marketing Talks about vlogs from the point of view of the producer and the marketer. Roxanne Darling, Walks on the Beach with Rox and Barefoot Studios, and Rick Short, Rick Short's B2B Marcom Blog and Indium Corporation, discuss how video goes beyond a text blog or an audio podcast to create an emotional bond with your community.
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic related to social media marketing. Why? To help organizations understand social media marketing and how to join the conversation without getting blown-up. Miss tonight's show? You can pick it up as a podcast.
Topic for September 11, 2007: The Emotional Power of Vlogs
Guests: Roxanne Darling Walks of the Beach with Rox and Barefoot Studios, and Rick Short, Rick Short's B2B Marcom Blog and Indium Corporation
Time: 6:30p - 7p Eastern/ 5:30p - 6p Central/ 4:30p -5p Mountain/ 3:30p - 4p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Diva Marketing Talks
explores how video blogs or vlogs can complement a social media
marketing strategy. We'll talk to Rick about his experience launching
his industry's first video ad. Rox will give us a few technical and strategic tips. And much, much more.
Roxanne Darling
From the beaches of beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii, Roxanne Darling's
company "Bare Feet Studios" was born of a barefoot culture
and people confuse the two frequently. Rox wears many hats; in
addition to her role as CEO Rox is also a new media video producer, a
keynote speaker, coach and web strategist
Roxanne
has over 15 years experience as an expert presenter throughout North
America, Asia, and Europe, consistently garnering 5 star ratings based
on her ability to both inspire and educate her audiences. She's given
hundreds of sessions, including keynotes, and is equally effective with
small intimate groups as well as audiences of over 1500 people. She
began speaking about podcasting in March 2005; her most recent gig is
at the BlogHer Business Conference in New York, March 2007.
She
is also the voice and co-producer of Beach Walks with Rox, a daily
video podcast aka internet tv show that won three Vloggie Awards from
both Judge's Favorites and Audience Favorites. Her show is consistently
rated in the top podcasts on Network2.tv, Podcast Alley, iTunes and
many other podcast reviews. Her philosophy is to cultivate the unique
mix of technical quality, authentic messaging, and audience interaction
for each project.
She loves new technology, is comfortable working in disruptive
marketplaces, and is a passionate translator of complex new concepts
into easy-to-understand and implement strategies. Her many years as a
coach for Johnson & Johnson and as an international trainer enable
her to connect with diverse audiences.
Rick Short
In his role of Director of Marketing Communication for Indium
Corporation, Rick Short, is responsible for creating Marcom plans and
activities that involve in multiple languages, on several continents.
Rick and his team execute over 50 trade exhibitions (award-winning exhibit
designs),hosts 375,000 blog visits, hosts 1.4 million website visits,
creates and publishes over 125 pieces of collateral and developing,
creates and places over 150 print and electronic ads (award-winning)
and conceives and promotes video ads, interviews, and demonstrations
(award-winning).
He is an acknowledged leader in social media and his media credits include interviews in US
NEWS & WORLD REPORT and UK’s The Guardian. Rick has been highlighted
in The Corporate Blogging Book, What No One Ever Tells You About
Blogging and Podcasting, Real Life Advice From 101 People Who
Successfully Leverage The Power of the Blogosphere, and Blog Rules.
He serves as an Advisory Council member for American Business Media.Rick has spoken for the American Marketing Association, Frost &
Sullivan, and at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, as
well as at private corporate engagements. His work is monitored by some
of the world’s leading advertising and public relations agencies for
its activities and results.
Rick earned the Business Marketing Association’s prestigious Pro-Comm Award for his industry’s first online video advertisements.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Roxanne Darling
- Sound matters most in video.
It may
seem counterintuitive, but people will actually put up with a shaky
camera and poor lighting and rough editing because the brain can fill
in those details. Bad sound is just nails on a chalkboard and people
will not be able to endure it.
Video
is difficult to set up, shoot, and encode all by yourself and end up
with better than amateur presentation. Your chances of success and
sustainability increase dramatically when you have at least one person
in front and one behind the camera who can share the editing and
marketing.
- Space and time both matter.
Video
files are huge compared to text files, so research a hosting solution
right up front. Your normal web hosting plan most likely will not
accommodate video blogging, at least not for long. Look into space and
bandwidth limits. If you are prolific, you will push the space limit.
If you are successful, you will push the bandwidth limit.
Aloha,
Roxanne
Complements of Rick Short
- BEGIN AT THE END: In other words, initiate any and all projects
with a written goal. With out a written goal, any attempt will likely
be ill-fated. This is true for the overall program as well as for each
video.
- STAY WITHIN YOURSELF: A) Keep the program pure to your
corporate personality and capabilities. Otherwise, you'll likely
confuse the audience. B) Keep the activities simple (for you and your
company) and easy to do. Otherwise, you'll likely quit.
- MAINTAIN RELEVANCE: Anyone can create a stir; that's just a
cheap parlor trick. By keeping the message and activity relevant to
your product/service/image, the message will have a true and meaningful
ring to it. This is true for the effect you have on your customers as
well as on your employees.
Can't call in but have a question for Rox or Rick ? Drop a
comment and I'll ask it for you. Let me know what you'd like Diva Talks to chat
about.
09/10/2007
Sometimes you just have to let a post be a link because someone does it so well all you can do is say .. click here to learn more.
In this case it's
Kevin O'Keefe, Real Lawyers Have Blogs and founder of Lexblogs LexBlog, who has consolidated 
lessons learned about blogs and social media from some of the most highly respected people in social media (how I got into the mix I'm not quite sure). Kevin weaves in his own special sauce creating a must read post. Here's a taste .. but I encourage you to "click here to learn more."
Dave Winer: granddaddy of blogs and social media described blogs as the unedited voice of a person and suggests if you're trying to get business from your blog, send people away.
Duncan Riley, co-founder and former vice president of b5media tell us that you build traffic through your perseverance.
Amy Gahran, a Colorado-based media consultant, journalist and regular contributor to Poynter Online reminds us that before you do anything else, figure out which groups you wish to engage in a public conversation. Then - Don’t just lurk, speak up!
Susannah Gardner, co-founder of the internet consulting/web design company, Hop Studios and author of Buzz Marketing With Blogs for Dummies, has put together a review of popular blog software platforms.
Robert Scoble who brought blogs to Microsoft and co-authored Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers)says blogs/social media is the new-more-efficient-word-of-mouth network. According to Robert, "Five bloggers is all it takes to spark something."
Shel Israel, strategic communications advisor, co-author with Scoble of Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, and publisher of his social media/technology centered blog Global Neighbourhoods, offers 10 tips when blogging as an employee of a corporation. One of my favorites is - If you make a mistake, admit it. Say you're sorry. Fix it. Make a penance. Link to people who are talking about you or the mistake.
Charlene Li, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, has a report that helps to define the ROI of business blogging. This is a must read for anyone who considers social media to be a credible, accountable marketing strategy .
Jeremiah Owyang, a Bay Area web strategist and soon-to-be Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, explains there is no cookie cutter way to measure success, it depends on the goals of the program, whether it be thought leadership, buzz, reaching to customers, managing crises, customer outreaches, etc.
Alex Barnett, VP, Community for Bungee Labs, reminds us that the key to realizing the long-term marketing benefits of blogging is understanding that marketing is a conversation. Your prospective clients talk among themselves and with those who influence them.
Doc Searls, a fellow at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Information Technology & Society and well-known blogger is credited for coining the phrase, "Markets are conversations." Doc explains his concept further, "In fact, we were trying to get past metaphor altogether, and back to what markets were in the first place: places where people meet to do business and make culture."
Guy Kawasaki, CEO of Garage Technology Ventures, co-founder of the user-created social media site Truemors offers 11 ways business professionals can use LinkedIn. One of my favs is - Ask for advice. LinkedIn’s newest product, LinkedIn Answers,allows you to broadcast your
business-related questions to both your network and the greater
LinkedIn network.
Josh Hallett, runs the consulting firm Hyku, LLC and operates the company’s Hyku Blog. Josh gives how to advice on live blogging conferences. He cautions that to be effective at large conferences a team of bloggers should be assembled. It's not a one man or a one diva show.
John Cass, an author and marketer out of Massachusetts blogs at PR Communications. He points us to
how to initiate a blogging policy - SCOUT Backbone Media, Inc.'s Corporate Guidelines for Using Blogs and Forums.
Mark Cuban is more than just the owner of Dallas Mavericks, Chairman of HDNet and new member of ABC’s third season of Dancing with the Stars, Mark is the author of the blog - Blog Maverick. In a post from 2005, Mark explains how blog searching can be a powerful 'competitive intelligence' business tool.
In today's world, one upset customer can write in their blog about how upset they are about your product or service and it could be linked to by any number of other blogs, which in turn are linked to by any number of blogs, which is in turn picked up by a TV news show. In 24 hours or less, tens to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people have heard the complaint and your business and brand are at risk.
Darren Rowse, co-founder and vp of blog network b5media writes lots the popular ProBlogger blog where he provides tips for successful blogging including how to monetize a blog. Darren's win-win-win tip is inviting guest bloggers in. You get a bit of a break, the blogger gets added exposure and your community gets some new insights. Sidebar: Guest blogging for Problogger was how I met Peter from The Blog Studio who designed Diva Marketing's spiffy skin.
Steve Rubel is svp at the PR firm Edelman. Steve maintains the blog Micro Persuasion. He believes the future of PR is participation, not pitching. He tells us that the web has become more influential than traditional media, and smart PR specialists are doing what they can to adjust their business models to reflect these changes.
Brian Clark is an Internet marketing strategist and content developer. He also runs Copyblogger, providing tips for successful online marketing. His 5 Immutable Laws of Persuasive Blogging, provides tips for gaining influence in the blogosphere. Anyone who pretends to know me will not be surprised that tip #5 is my favorite.
5. The Law of the Story: Stories are the most persuasive blogging element of all, as they allow you to present a problem, the solution, and the results, all while the connotation of the story allows readers to sell themselves on what you have to offer.
.. and what did Kevin pull from me? That blogs establish relationships and connect with potential clients.
Thanks to Jeff from Bridgewater State for the use of the cool graphic.
09/06/2007
I was skipping 
around the internet looking for inspiration and found this wonderful quote - "To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity." Douglas Adams
Then I received an eMail from Qui Diaz, 360° Digital Influence - Ogilvy Public Relations. I met Qui at the Success In The City's Social Media Conference this June. She is smart and kind and likes Diva Marketing and Max .. so of course we hit it off right away.
Seems Ogilvy has developed A Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics. So I clicked over to see what they were doing and dropped a comment. Sometimes the best "posts" are the comments that I leave on other people's posts. Do you feel that way too? Here's what I said -
Nice to see a large agency thinking through and putting together "ethics" on how to work with bloggers. My thanks to Qui Diaz for the email about your guidelines.
Taking into consideration that the title of your post is "Creating A Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics" there is an element that is not mentioned and although it might not fall into a 'code of ethics' is one of the most significant reasons bloggers will even begin to consider reading your emails and then posting. It is the reason I clicked on Qui's link. Relationship. Qui and I have developed a relationship over the past several months and I trust her ideas will be of interest to me and to my community.
MK's #9 and #10 address how you might begin to build relationships with bloggers. In my post, 12 Blogger Relations Secrets For PR, Advertising and Brand Marketers, I offer a few tips that run similar to MK's list.
10. Remember what your Mama taught you. A follow-up thank you for mentions would really be over the top.
11. Join me in the conversations. Drop a comment on a post. Send me an email note about a post I wrote.
One note of caution, be careful who you offer payment to and/or freebies. Some bloggers are dead set against accepting anything because they feel it compromises their integrity with their community. They would prefer a way to give back to their community. Be creative. Keep in mind bloggers are not journalists.
MK Milker's, The Not Quite Crunch Parent, comment should be a post. Here are #9 and #10 that I referenced. Her comment alone is worth a click to the post.
9. Respond to or engage me. You can comment on my blog – you can. Jump in any conversation that seems to fit with your client’s marketing message. Unlike in the mainstream media where you play a background role, you can respond to my commenters’ questions or ones I raise myself. Come on, Mattel, get out there and tell us what you’re doing about the recall. Don’t you have a crisis plan in place for the blogosphere?
10.Follow up. Not with me. Don’t ask me to send you the link to my article when it runs. Run a search for it. Send me a gushy thank you note thanking me for my time.
There are as many beliefs about what is ethical when it comes to blogging as there are bloggers. Each bloggy village e.g., Mommy bloggers, Real Estate bloggers, Golf bloggers, Business bloggers, Baseball bloggers has its own culture and acceptable norms. A few weeks ago, in the biz blogosphere, there was a lively debate on the ethics of accepting an expensive camera to test. Some bloggers felt it was cool while others had very different views and concerns.
MK's #4 is a reminder that some bloggers do accept and encourage samples. "Don’t expect something for nothing. In the early days of blogging, bloggers were so thrilled to receive an email from a large company to that they were happy to write a review. Now, as blogs gain more influence, bloggers are bombarded with requests. Send me the product you wish me to review. At least I receive a free sample."
Recently Alison Bryan Fields, Ogilvy, conducted an interview with Chris Jordan - Notes From The Trenches. I hope Chris will forgive me for posting my 2 favorite lines out of context but they bring home two very important concepts.
I think a lot of PR people haven’t realized that — and I think a lot of bloggers haven’t realized it. It is valuable real estate that you’re asking me to give up for free.
Even if a blog doesn't have thousands of RSS subscribers or thousands
of visitors there is significant value in a niched, loyal community, as
well as, value in visitors coming in through the search engines. A post
about a product/service/ offers one more customer touch point. One more
viral pass along. One more opportunity to create a sale. Valuable real estate.
On the other hand, most bloggers understand my second favorite line from Chris' interview -
If you don’t value what you are putting out there, you lose your voice. Your readers are not going to come back.
My but it's been interesting to watch as the PR/AD/Brand Marketers circle round trying to figure out how to tap into the buzz from bloggers. Assuming that bloggers are, as MK put it, " .. thrilled to receive an email from a large company .." Or anyone who ass-u-me-s that bloggers are waiting to tap their keyboards about anything that comes into their in-box.
Which leads me full circle divas and divos to what inspired this post, Douglas Adams' quote, "To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought
or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."
Now if our PR/AD/Brand Marketing friends can understand that we'll have a triple win for the bloggers, for their communities and for marketer's clients.
Thanks to PR Couture for the use of the graphic.
09/04/2007
Today's Diva Marketing Talks with two "c-suite" bloggers, Merrill Dubrow, President/CEO of M/A/R/C Research and Nick Jacobs, President/CEO of Windber Medical Center and Winder Research Institute. Merrill and Nick discuss the challenges and the benefits of senior level executives joining the conversation.
Diva Marketing Talks is a live, internet radio show. 30-minutes. 2-guests. 1-topic related to social media marketing. Why? To help organizations understand social media marketing and how to join the conversation without getting blown-up. Miss tonight's show? You can pick it up as a podcast.
Topic for September 4, 2007: The C-Suite Joins The Social Space Conversation
Guests: Merrill Dubrow, President/CEO of M/A/R/C and Nick Jacobs, President/CEO of Windber Medical Center and Winder Research Institute
Time: 6:30p - 7p Eastern/ 5:30p - 6p Central/ 4:30p -5p Mountain/ 3:30p - 4p Pacific
Call-in Guest Number: 718.508.9924
Diva Marketing Talks gets an insiders view of social media and blogging from two senior executives who are leading their industries (marketing research and healthcare) in conversational marketing. Do CEOs have a different obligation to their organization than that of other employees who blog? If so how does that impact a CEO's blog?
Merrill Dubrow, President and Chief Executive Officer of M/A/R/C has a passion for building strong relationships and a mission to drive innovation. Merrill is leading this top full service marketing research company into its fifth decade.
Merrill is known for his commitment to supporting the continuous development of marketing research by nurturing new talent and pioneering new methods for meeting the paramount challenges of the industry today. He currently serves on the national MRA board as well as the advisory boards for UTA Arlington, the University of Georgia, the University of Wisconsin, and Southern Illinois University. He has served as President of the AMA Boston Chapter and Co-chaired two AMA Leadership Summits. In addition, he is a sought after speaker for industry conferences including AMA, CMOR, CASRO as well as universities including Northeastern University, Boston University, Emory University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to taking the leadership role at M/A/R/C, Merrill served as senior vice president of client development at Harris Interactive’s Service Bureau where he lead his team to achieve superior levels of excellence in client service and set new records for the company. Before joining M/A/R/C, he held positions with Elrick & Lavidge, Phone Lab Research, CRC Information, Quick Test and BizRate.com throughout his 20+ years in the industry.
Merrill received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. He is a loyal Boston Red Sox fan. Merrill is married and has three children, Justin, Riley, and Morgan.
F. Nicholas Jacobs is responsible for setting strategic vision for the Medical Center and the Institute; providing general management and coordination for both organizations. Before being named to his current positions, he served as Chief Communications Officer of the Conemaugh Health System and Vice President of Mercy Medical Center.
Nick holds a Master's degree in Public Management/Health Systems Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He has been awarded Certification from The Grantsmanship Center at the College of William and Mary;
and a Certificate in Health Care Management from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives.
Nick currently serves a multitude of boards including the Board of Directors of the international hospital organization, Planetree, the Hospital Council of Western PA, Chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Services, a board member of both the River City Brass Band, and the Arcadia Performing Arts Theater. He is also a member of the advisory council for the John P. Murtha Institute of Homeland Security at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
A sample of the awards Nick had received include Commander's Award, Walter Reed Healthcare System; Outstanding Support Award, Clinical Breast Care Project, Walter Reed Army Medical Center; Clinical
Breast Care Project Collaboration Award, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; and the Community Rural Health Leader of the Year for 2001.
Many of his writings have been published in healthcare magazines and he has been prominently featured in the Wall Street Journal. Nick is a 21st century renaissance man; although he is a Steelers fan he has a passion for culture too. His interests span all types of music and theater to the visual arts. His reading runs from nonfiction to business psychology and philosophy books.
Tips From The Diva Bag
Complements of Merril Dubrow
Be very disciplined – blogs are about being dynamic so you need to get into a routine of posting new subjects every week if not your readers will lose interest
Make it fun for your readers and yourself – try and pick subjects that are not only interesting to you but thought provoking to your readers
Be VERY creative about your titles in your posts – that has drawn alot of interest for our blog
Be genuine and passionate about what you write about.
Make sure you find your sweet spot – for my readers that appears to be less than 350 words.
Can't call in but have a question for Nick or Merrill ? Drop a
comment and I'll ask it for you. Let me know what you'd like Diva Talks to chat
about.
Diva Marketing Talks and Diva Marketing (blog) is dedicated to the
people who were touched by 9-11. That means all of us but especially to
those who were so brave and giving.
From the beaches of beautiful Honolulu, Hawaii, Roxanne Darling's
company "Bare Feet Studios" was born of a barefoot culture
and people confuse the two frequently. Rox wears many hats; in
addition to her role as CEO Rox is also a new media video producer, a
keynote speaker, coach and web strategist
