Are You Willing?

I was watching a video of Scott Stratten or @unmarketing as you may know him on twitter. He wrote the book “Unmarketing- Stop Marketing and Start Engaging” He is now on a book tour, really going out into the world and not only engaging with his over 66k followers. But he is doing more than that. He is taking a stand. He is like this wild, radical Canadian man on a mission to change the way people market. Why?

(Hint: cuz what your doing is not working, it is annoying and not making you any money off me cuz I am tired of this BS you try to sell me all the time.)

He is taking a stand because he, as a human being wants what we all want. He wants to be heard, he wants to be paid attention to, and he wants you to treat him with respect and kindness, as you do business with him. He is pointing out some really obvious facts. He is sharing real life stories of how hard it was. (I love the one where he took 30 days and lived twitter. Tweeted 7000 tweets in 30 days. After those 30 days he had 10,000 followers. )

He rants on people not wanting to take the time to put in the work to create 7,000 tweets, who moan that “tweezer” does not work for them. Then he said it. That moment where if you were in a Baptist church you would stand to your feet and proclaim AMEN! He said:

Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

I said yes! When I teach classes people always ask me “how much time…” I hate that question. At first I assumed that it was because I was in denial about my addiction, and just did not like being called out on it. Then I started answering in a very professional way: “That’s not a fair question.” I followed it with- but this is what I do.

When Scott said that “Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!” I realized it. I do take a lot of time to build relationships online. I do still play responsibly and work hard to get my offline responsibilities done. –I may work harder and longer, but I just do it, because to me, to my business, the time is well spent.

So if you are not seeing results by auto scheduling your tweets, or running a great promotion, or give away, if you’re still focusing on the media of the term Social Media- forget the push!

Try to find ways to really connect. Listen *Comment* Help* Show you care. The time you spend caring about the people will be time well spent that will change you.

Social media does not change the fact that relationships take time!

Are you willing to take the time to make this relationship work?

August 12, 2010

The Story of Sparkles

I recently went to a conference and met a very interesting lady. She had bling on her glasses and bling on her shirt. She was a very energetic person and I liked her instantly. With the large amount of people that I was meeting I was having a difficult time remembering names, so I called her

She owns Embroidme Baltimore, and at her shop. They make customized “bling” apparel.

We had several conversations about how that process takes place and I was instantly fascinated. But what I really liked was her ability to be who she was always. She let her character and personality shine even with her choice of clothing, eyewear, footwear, and handbags.

I encourage people with social media to be who they are.

Sometimes people tell me they keep two Facebook profiles. One profile for family and friends and one profile for business associates. Often find this is not a good practice, as the person who is truly good at networking and building relationships in the community, and within their businesses find that the line of who is their friend, and who is a business acquaintance is very often blurry. Just have one and be who you are.

I was very delighted to receive a package in the mail yesterday.

I opened it, standing next to my mother-in-law. When she saw the contents she instantly said, oh. Is that from Sparkles?

Her ability to be herself on an off-line carried over into my conversations on and off-line to the point that my mother-in-law knew exactly who my package was from without looking at the name.

No matter what your business or what you’re selling. The bottom line is you have to sell you first. To do that, you want people to recognize your name in association with a particular character trait, feeling, emotion, product, or ____. (You fill in the blank. )

As you make your next status update ask yourself:

What does this statement picture or link say about me?

Thank you Allison… Now I don’t have to wait till I am a Billionaire.

“Every time I close my eyes,

I see my name in shining lights”

August 9, 2010

Company Policy

Guest Blogger today:

Janet Laane Effron ( @janet_frg )

She is a Managing Principal of the Four Rivers Group where she works to support businesses and educational groups in the selection and implementation of processes & technologies to enable organizational learning and informational management.

Company Policy

I was asked, recently, about the advisability of including the Blog function in a Sharepoint implementation. The answer to that lies in a question, the same primary question that needs to be asked if your business is looking Twitter, Yammer, an in-house wiki, or a host of other Social Media tools. The question is a simple one:

Is it your company policy to hire stupid people?

I’m guessing the answer to that question is “no”; that your HR policy is to hire talented, capable, highly motivated professionals who want to excel in their careers. Assuming that is the case, then there are some other questions to consider:

Do you want to leverage the talents of your workforce to achieve the greatest business results?

Do you want employees to have access to the best in-house knowledge to support their performance?

Do you want to increase efficiency and productivity?

In this case, I’m guessing the answer is “yes”.

So, if you’ve hired intelligent, motivated adult professionals, maybe you need to let them be just that. Given the opportunity, it is likely a good portion of them will have expertise and insight that they want to share. And if that expertise is shared on an in-house blog or wiki, then that means the next time someone needs input or advice they’ll be able to track down the experts in the business instead of taking Hobson’s Choice, merely asking the person at the water cooler or in the office down the hall. And as questions get asked, it’s good odds that more and more of the most needed information will end up on your blog or wiki so that the experts only have to put it out there once, not in twenty separate conversations. More efficient for the information seekers; more efficient for the information sources.

Now, of course it is not that simple. It’s easy to fritter away time on blog posts, micro-blogging or wikis. It’s easy to spend too much with social media and not enough time on projects. But you and the rest of your organization face this already, with phone calls, email, the internet, impromptu conversations in the hallway…. Wasting time is a product of people and the company culture, not of tools.

In the same way, success of Social Media tools will also hinge on your business culture. If you have a culture of information hoarding, or of viewing “failure” as worse than inaction, then the best tools in the world will not be effective in leveraging the knowledge and talents of your employees. Because, as was said before, your employees aren’t stupid. They’ll contribute and innovate in direct proportion to what your corporate culture really values.

July 26, 2010

Building Brand Advocates

This article is featured in this month’s Evansville Business Journal.

How does a company build its presence on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedln? What are your customers most interested in: what you say about your company or what your friends and their friends say? Kyle Lacy, author of “Twitter Marketing for Dummies,” often says, “I don’t care about your clients. I care about their friends:’

How do you find and empower brand advocates? Start from within. Your best and most loyal brand advocates are sitting across the cubicle from you. Stand up look over the cubicle wall and say “Hello” to your next brand advocate. Wait, she’s not in sales! He’s not part of the management team! He doesn’t deal directly with customers! However, who are his friends? Or her friends’ friends?

Companies across the nation are scrambling to find and create ways for their brand advocates to show themselves and endorse their brand or product. The companies that do it best start from within. They don’t hire a single person to do all their social media. It is a team effort, built with a strong foundation in goals and strategic planning. Part of that foundation is relying upon the very men and women who make up the work force of the company to tell the story like it is. Today’s customers can spot a smooth campaign. They will trust an authentic voice – from you and your employees. Customers appreciate real engagement, with real people, in real companies.

Your employees are your biggest brand advocates. When you remind them that you believe in them, they will want to tell others they believe in you. Not only that, your employees will be more loyal and dedicated to you, their work and your company.

Put goals, policy and strategy in place before implementing any social media programs. Thorough training is essential for everyone involved so all will advocate well. After these tasks are complete, you start the process of building your advocate base.

Empower advocates from within your company ranks for your social media. The stronger relationships you build with your employees and your customers will position you to engage in the 21 st century. Oh, and it will build your bottom line sales numbers, too. EBJ

June 29, 2010

Saying Goodbye to a Hero

First let me say, this is baseball. “You win some you lose some.” That phrase is usually reserved to the game play itself. Today I want to use it to talk about the loss of a player.

Second let me say that what I am saying here is simply my perspective as an Otters fan and as a proud mother.

This year we became members of the Otters Booster Club. As part of that membership, we attended the pre-game picnic where we were introduced to the team and staff of the Evansville Otters. At that picnic the host families sat with their new players. Some of the players did not have families yet, and a few had families that could not attend due to work. We were fortunate enough to have several players sit at our table. They laughed and played with my children like they had been best buddies forever.

Over his short season, my children developed a respect for one of those players: #25 Carlos Romero. In the exhibition game he made an astonishing catch. The kids beamed, proud to know such a player. After the game, they held to tradition and ran the bases. They skipped the rest of the team and ran straight for him.

We could not be a host family this year due to space issues, but we “adopted him.” We took him to eat dinner one day before a road trip. He graciously listened to my children yammer on and on. He answered all the questions. He was kind a courteous and respectful to everyone we encountered.

More than that he was a team advocate. He encouraged the wait staff to come watch the team, talked up the history of the ball park and was proud to be an Otter.

My boys looked up to him, more as a person than a player, but as both. They insisted that we go to Sam’s to get him snacks for the road. They packed a few goodie bags with enough supplies to last him the trip, if rationed well. When we gave them to him, he looked in the bags and said “Oh good there is enough for me to share.”

During that away game two major things happened. #1 Carlos broke a bat. #2 Carlos almost broke his hand. He came home on the injured list.

That first game back we came to the field, hand drawn get well bag in hand. He said to Eric (my 6 year old) “I brought you something too!” He went into the dugout and came out with a bat all taped up. It was the bat that he broke. He had taped it up and brought it home for Eric. He signed it for him and he went into the stands beaming.

The day after Carlos came off the injured list, he was released from the team. We all cried. This is by far not the first player we have watched go. Some we knew were the right decision, some we wondered about and figured that the trade must have been worth it. This is the first time I have really asked “why?”

I am a social media strategist. I help companies build brand advocates. I help with customer service and PR, I help with that and much more under the guise of social media. I usually encourage people start building brand advocates from within.

So here is my take on Carlos.

From what we saw of him during his time with the Evansville Otters, he appeared to be a good player. Due to circumstances he was not really given the opportunity to showcase his ability.

But that aside, he is a heck of a brand advocate. He loves what he does, and it shows. He loved working for the Otters, and he told the world through his facebook, and through his interactions with the community, on and off the field.

When we went to the bank, my son would see the Otters schedule and would tell anyone within earshot how great the Otters were and all about the “best player, my friend, #25 Carlos Romero.”

In talking to him about what was next for the outfielder, he was determined to continue playing ball.

Because he was a brand advocate for the Otters, he created other brand advocates. That is a priceless value to any team. He loves baseball; he loves kids; he loves community. Add to that my opinion that he is a good player, and you have a good package deal.

I can’t do much for him right now. I offered money. He was not as concerned with money (Even though I knew he was struggling to buy his ticket home.) He was concerned about some kids he had coached, and promised more play time / lessons. He is truly a gentleman with character.

So here is what I can do: If you believe in “America’s Game” please repost, retweet, share, digg, or whatever. Help me share the news that there is a player for hire that will be more than an asset to any team.

Carlos Bats/Throws: L/L HT:5’10” WT: 190
A full information sheet can be found here if you are interested in his stats.

May 24, 2010

Re-ignite People’s Potential by Changing the Rules of Engagement

Guest Post by Janet Laane Effron

Performance, productivity, attitude… we’d all like those to be first rate in the people we work with (and in ourselves). But sometimes we get saddled with an individual or a team who are walking definitions of the dead opposite. Sometimes these people aren’t inherently deadweight, but are talented individuals who have become under-performers. If that’s the case, the challenge is to

re-ignite their potential.

My best lessons in managing those situations came from outside the office.

Through various volunteer roles, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a few young people who had a healthy dose of non-motivation and bad attitudes. Some of them acquired those traits honestly, having spent quite a few years in what would be politely called “non-nurturing environments”. Some felt worthless and powerless; they didn’t see “change” as something that was possible. So they walked through life with a mix of bravado and apathy; pouring their energy into defiance and avoidance instead of building their abilities and achievements. When working with them, it was easy to fall into a trap of having every interaction be a point of conflict. And that wasn’t going to get anyone anywhere.

Some changes were needed. From me. So I learned to set people up to succeed. And I became hyper-vigilant about catching them doing things right and doing good things; avoiding the trap of only giving negative feedback; instead finding opportunities to praise and encourage. That doesn’t mean I relaxed standards; it does mean every effort was made to help them avoid pitfalls while trying to meet those standards.

The changes were undeniable. The impossible became possible. New motivations grew and replaced the apathy. It wasn’t all sunshine and daffodils, but the net result was a growth of ambition and enthusiasm that was well beyond the starting point.

You don’t have to look far to find people who have felt powerless and frustrated in the workplace; who spent too many years working in organizations where innovation and initiative were not welcome. There are probably some on your team right now who stopped trying long ago, and who drag everyone else down. Now, they might simply be lazy and annoying and that’s the end of it; those situations have obvious solutions. But when it’s a talented person whose potential is salvageable, it’s pretty good odds that if you set them up to succeed, and catch them doing good, they just might amaze you with what they achieve.

April 13, 2010

The Social Media Gardener

It’s that time of year again. Everywhere you look, you see temporary parking lot greenhouses filled with racks and racks of flowers. At Lowe’s, Home Depot, Schnuck’s and Ace Hardware, there are beautiful, bold, right, vibrant colors, just begging you to take some home!

As a rule of thumb for our little boot of Indiana, annuals shouldn’t be planted before Mother’s Day. Every year, I fall for it. I am tempted. Not only to buy these flowers prematurely, but to also buy more than I should. You see, annuals will not return next year. It is that simple. I’ve thrown my money away on short-term plants that are already blooming well before they should be, well before I should be planting them.

However, I have begun to shift my gardening strategy from a short-term to a long-term perspective. Lately, I have been cutting back on the number of annuals that I plant. Instead, I will wait until the Master Gardener Plant Sale in May. I then reallocate funds I normally spend on annuals, to buy more interesting and unique perennial varieties not available in local stores. A perennial will come back next year and those succeeding, bigger, stronger and more beautiful. So I have not wasted my money, time and effort on one-season, annual plants. I have instead invested in my landscape, gaining not only satisfaction and enjoyment, but also increasing my home’s financial value. Note, I’m still tempted, and I do still buy a few annuals each spring to quickly add color.

Some years back, I purchased both a lilac bush and a wisteria vine. I was told both of these were very young and may not bloom for several years. Already a master gardener, I went home and researched the soil, water, and sun recommendations for both of these plants. After reading up on them, and after talking to several other people, I have to admit I was intimidated by these plants. I bought them because I knew that, in a few years, both would have stunning color, and provide a major display in my already vibrant yard. I really wanted them to bloom right away, like my annuals but I knew that in the long run, if I planted them in ideal conditions and tended to them, these plants would bring joy for a lifetime.

Likewise with social media (SoMe). There are definitely some SoMe methods for quick “return on investment” that require little effort and little knowledge. As you can pay people to plant your annual beds, you can also pay up-front for generic services, and invest no time in their development. However, in the long run, these quick, impersonal, quirky campaigns will not build the satisfying, long-lasting personal, business and financial rewards that depend on, and build upon, relationships.

Rather, you can develop a strategic campaign that is most reflective of yourself, your business and its mission. A strategic social media presence is well thought out, well researched and well executed. It includes a variety of engagements, value and information. It pays long-term dividends that grow each year. Your business beds will not be planted with Social Media annuals, gone when the subscription runs out. They will instead build each year, synergistic with previous investments, to provide sustained competitive advantage. SoMe is a beautiful thing, if tended with TLC!