MarketingMel

"Lucky" checks for Facebook updates

Anyone watching Sunday night’s Super Bowl (and that would be 111 million of you by last count) knows that the show’s advertising went “to the dogs.” The old adage of “babes, beasts and beauties” was as prevalent in the social-media-heavy Super Bowl XLVI as it was long before twitter and Facebook were ever created. Dogs were riding in trucks, surviving the end of the world, running on treadmills, admiring themselves in mirrors, chasing cars and wearing running shoes. Clearly, man’s best friend continues to hold a high place of esteem and reverence (at least in the eyes of today’s advertising exec’s.)

All that got me thinking about tips I’ve gleaned from my own dog, “Lucky.” A 17 month old Jack Russell Terrier mix can teach us a lot about relationships. I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned with you and welcome your comments.

1. Be a good listener-  I talk to my dog. His response? Mostly he just looks, listens and nods approvingly.  In addition to making me feel better,  he’s there for me to sound out ideas. Do the same for your clients. Listen, and you’ll learn a lot.

2. Bark only if you have a good reason- I’ve never been able to stand “yippy yappies.” Whether it’s a dog or a person no one likes someone who’s always barking. Too much yakking gets nothing accomplished. Remember, if you can’t say something nice about somebody don’t bark at all.

3. Show people you love and appreciate them- There’s nothing like  a wagging tail, nudge or hand lick to know you’re appreciated. Think of ways that you can do this for your customers, co-workers and family members.

4. Exercise every day- Even if it’s just a walk around the block the fresh air will do you good. Getting out in nature is invigorating.

5. Take time out to play- If you get the chance to play with your customers all the better. Whether it’s ball, golf, or simply enjoying a nice lunch together, spend some “off” time with your clients.

6. Be loyal- Show loyalty to your boss and to your customers. I always try to purchase my customers’ products, recommend them and support them in any way that I can.

7. Together we make a great team- There is no end to the things that a dog can do that you may not have thought possible. (I was astounded the first time I ever ran a race with Lucky. He was slowed only by the speed of his human!) I’ve found the collective brainpower of “we” with my clients is always so much better than either of us could do alone. Together, our creativity and knowledge can produce remarkable results.

What lessons have you learned from your pet that carry over to the business world? I’d love to hear from you.

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Editor’s note: Throughout the month of February I’ll be concentrating on a theme of Relationship Building here on the MarketingMel blog. 

A client of mine recently shared an excellent book on customer service with me. The book is called “Surviving the Middle Miles: 26.2 Ways to Cross the Finish Line with Your Customers”  by Darryl Rosen. The author, a one-time marathon runner, draws an analogy between business and running. Just like in a long distance race, the shiny newness wears off after you’re underway for a few miles but inside you know it’s still a long ways until the finish line!  As runner I loved the book’s name and related to its running/business theme. Rosen, who operated a very successful wine business, shares ways to provide the best for our customers. I’ll share some of my favorites here with you.

In his chapter titled “Appreciate Your Customers and Show it”  Rosen offers the following tips:

1- Say thank you- Now that may not seem like such a clever concept but you would be surprised how people, starting at a very young age, are not being taught those simple words. Rosen likes to send off hand written notes to customers. He even suggests making up reasons to say thank you!

2- It’s never too late- This example happened to me once. I was a recipient of a *long* overdue thank you from someone and guess what?  It felt great to be remembered. I really appreciated the gesture even if it was late, and it helped to cement a good working relationship between us. Even if you think the time has passed  to to say thank you, say it anyway!

The last chapter of the book is called, “Cheering for Others.” If you have competed in a running race or other athletic competition you know how much it means to have “cheerleaders” standing along the sidelines, particularly as you’re heading toward the home stretch. I’ve always loved it when my family makes it out to one of my running races and I see them cheering wildly at the end.  Rosen has that uplifting feeling in mind with the following common-sense tips.

3. Be flexible- Go with the flow and embrace change

4. Be likeable- Rosen says likeability is actually good for your health! It increases our self esteem which in turn lowers our stress levels!

5. Be real- Be honest and ethical and show credibility

6. Be a good communicator- Show humility

7. Be interested in others-Remember to turn the conversation back to your customer and CHEER!

This book is a quick read and I highly recommend it for anyone in the service business. Let me know which one of these tips resonates with you as you appreciate your customers.

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Have you ever felt completely validated by something? When Gary Vaynerchuck posted this video last weekit was just like he and I were stepping to the same drummer. (Nice to be validated by one of the biggest social media marketing gurus in the world!)

Wow. So personal brands have become so powerful, especially in the tech sector that big “brands” are leaving their companies and launching out on their own. Seth Godin has been hammering on this purple cow effect for years.  Tom Peters pioneered the concept of the Brand Called You long before the current social networking channels existed.

Tim Tebow in action

Today I’ll be hosting product managers from across the globe in a conversation on personal branding on Global Product Management Talk on twitter and on blog radio. We’ll be talking about the power of some of our most famous personal celebrity brands like Denver Broncos’ quarterback Tim Tebow, now ranked the most popular athlete. Tebow is controversial but he also set records not only for his game winning pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers but for the tweets per minute that followed. We’ll also mention the Dolly Parton brand as I discussed here last week. Her staying power has crossed generations and multiple communications channels. And, talk about topical. She rolls out a new movie with Queen Latifah and then Dolly announces plans for a new Nashville based snow and water park! Now that’s one sharp and busy businesswoman.

So how does a product manager or a person reading this blog begin to see him/herself in the way that the celebrities already know is powerful? First, determine your niche. There is bound to be some area of expertise that you know more about than does anyone else. That’s what social media affords us today that we didn’t have in the past.  Today we all have opportunities to be our own publishers and media outlets. Here is a good quick tips video from the AMA featuring tips from Sherri Thomas. Good luck and as we’re heading toward Super Bowl Sunday remember: once you get that ball run with it!

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Editor’s note: For the first blog of the New Year I reviewed the posts of the past year. The following is a guest blog written by the award winning  motivational speaker, trainer and diversity consultant, Dr. Brenda White Wright.  It was first published in February 2011 however I felt the material is timeless and a great way to launch a New Year! 

Step One – Have quiet time everyday. Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”   Everyone needs and deserves some “personal” time each day.  Retreat from the daily demands of others to replenish your mind and spirit.  We may need to get up earlier or stay up later but we need that personal quiet time to meditate, pray, think, dream, or read; to consider new possibilities for our lives.

Step Two – Develop and commit to a personal plan of action for your life. Proverbs 29:18 – “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Vision clarifies our purpose in life and gives us direction.   Dr. Robert Schular wrote, “When you get where you’re going, where will you be?”

Step Three – Exercise everyday – physically, mentally, & spiritually.  In order to live a balanced life, each of us needs to exercise everyday – physically, mentally, and spiritually.  We can walk or jog, read, study, read, take up a new hobby, go back to school, worship, pray, and/or meditate according to our spiritual beliefs and values.

Step Four – Quit giving excuses. Insanity has been defined as, “doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result.  “Keep doing what you’ve been doing and you will keep getting what you’ve been getting.”  If you like where you are – great!  If not, then “do” something about it.  Nothing takes care of itself.  Make a decision and then ask God to help you stick to it.

Step Five – Have an attitude of gratitude. Be more thankful!  It is impossible to be thankful and negative at the same time.   Most of us have the gifts of speech and hearing, sight, and mobility.  Most of us are blessed with families and friends who love us and care about us.  Most of us are not homeless, helpless, or hopeless.  The more thankful you are for what you have today, the more you’ll have tomorrow to be thankful for.

Step Six– Become more respectful of differences. God is no respecter of persons.  Learn to respect diversity.  Being disrespectful of differences is often the cause for confrontations and conflicts of all kinds – from disputes in our homes, to physical abuses, to war in the world because of racial, ethnic, and religious differences.  Being accepting is not the same thing as agreement.  It’s about acceptance and respect.

Step Seven– Learn to Listen and Listen to Learn.Listen more than you speak.Hearing is a gift, but listening is a skill that needs to be developed.  Listen requires humility.  It’s one of the greatest gifts that we can give to someone and as we give, I believe that we receive in kind.

Step Eight – Be a Servant Leader. Help others grow and get where you are.  Don’t put them down.  Instead, teach what was taught to you.  Do for someone else what was done for you.  None of us got here alone.   As we give, we receive.  The more we give, the better we live.

Step Nine – Laugh more often! Lighten up!  A sense of humor is one of the inherent abilities that God has given us to cope with stress.  Humor is one of the most inexpensive and readily available nonprescription medications to reduce stress, stimulate creativity and improve performance.  The Scriptures say, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”

Step Ten – Love what you do, do what you love, and if you love someone, tell them.

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Christmas background image by Yana Ray

This week I get to participate in the 3six5 project. It is an international blogging project written in the style of  daily journal entries from 365 different people. 365 days, 365 points of view.  Each person telling the story of their day with a 365 word limit of course. I am eagerly looking forward to writing since the day that was assigned to me will coincidentally be a very special and important day. More on that as the day, the project and my family (hint) arrive!

P.S. The day has arrived and here is my post! By the way as I look at some of the other authors I am particularly honored to have been invited to take part in this writing project!

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P.R. pro's are welcome in a Crisis. Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I worked in marketing for a large law firm I remember my husband’s response to all of the lawyer jokes and kidding. “Just try going into court without one.” The same could be said for a C.E.O. turned loose in a crisis storm without a good Public Relations consultant to provide guidance. Major crises are in the news daily. Behind those giant companies and institutions are the P.R. firms consulting with them.

Crisis communications is a specific niche within the public relations field. Ideally every company should have a crisis communications plan in place prior to the crisis occurring (it’s not just a matter of if one will occur, it is when!)  I remember routinely rehearsing crises at one large defense company where I was employed as a communications specialist. Look at most of our schools today. Drilling and preparedness is routine for these students.

A good P.R. pro will weigh the pro’s and con’s of given media strategies and help to formulate an overall communications plan to deal with a crisis. This year I was called in to handle a client crisis involving a potential hostile takeover attempt. On very short notice I was working with the board chair, the chief executive, the general counsel and the media! A good P.R. Pro knows how to handle the top business executives and how to speak their language. I read with interest Stacy Blackman’s article in U.S. News and World Report, “Why B-Schools need to teach P.R.”  While the language of business is key, it’s the well strategized and crafted communications message that forms the bridge from business to the receiver. It’s ultimately this ability to speak “bilingually” when needed that gives a P.R. pro a seat at the corporate table. In my client’s case the self-described “white knight” was turned away thanks to a sound communications strategy that took into account the client’s business and communications needs. It would behoove M.B.A.’s to learn public relations in school as eventually most CEO’s will end up working with a Public Relations professional. Does your company have a crisis communications plan for 2012? These days social media must be an integral part of any plan. Here are some excellent resources to get you thinking.

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Christmas Giving photo credit Julie Campbell on Flickr

This morning I had the occasion to hear one of our local radio car gurus, Lennie Lawson, discussing “The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success” on his morning talk show, My Car Guru, on WJCW Radio. Based on the book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the concept espouses the belief that it is indeed better to give than to receive. It is great food for thought as we begin thinking of the changes we’ll make in the new year ahead. I think all of these laws apply well to the world of social media because there, as “in real life,” in order to succeed, it is always better to give first! Here are the laws: Which one will you live by in 2012?
“The Law of Value
Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
The Law of Compensation
Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
The Law of Influence
Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
The Law of Authenticity
The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
The Law of Receptivity
The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.”

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This week I will wrap up the fourth and final part of my twitter 101 guest series with Maria Peagler of Social Media Online Classes. Maria just unveiled a terrific twitter infographic as part of an excellent article called 64 ways to improve your twitter marketing. It provides easy to understand information for those still baffled by twitter. In this, my fourth and final guest appearance on Maria’s twitter courses, we talk about ways to market your business on twitter. From free product offerings to regular participation in twitter industry chats with like-minded business professionals, you can grow your reach and business presence by using twitter in a professional manner.

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This is the third part of my four part guest twitter tips series for my friend Maria Peagler at Social Media Online Classes. Maria and I actually met on twitter and I’m glad to help her out (absolutely no affiliate marketing here, just helping a virtual and mastermind friend!) Maria asked me to create some guest posts to accompany her online social media instruction for small businesses and I was glad to do so. Now she’s allowing me to re-post them here on my blog. Today’s topic involves the array of free twitter tools out there and the one that is my preferred method of monitoring twitter. (Hint: Not long ago it got a lot of publicity for being bought by twitter for a cool $40-$50 million.)  For windows users here’s a good article on the array of free twitter tools available to you. Also, Mashable has this excellent article on twitter desktop apps. What’s your favorite twitter app.?

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Did you see the news that twitter is the number one social network of choice among the Fortune 500? All of the Fortune top 10 and 62 percent of the Fortune 500 companies are on twitter. As the article states they no doubt love twitter’s openness and simplicity. Facebook comes in a close second. It is used by 58 percent of the Fortune 500. As you know if you saw my video last week, I’m in agreement with the big guns when it comes to the power of twitter when building a brand. My good online friend Maria Peagler was kind enough to invite me to guest teach during the twitter portion of her Social Media Online Classes. In the second of our four part series, I discuss what a retweet is and when to use the “RT.” I actually cut this video before all of the recent discussion about journalists re-tweeting, the A.P.’s recent ruling on RTs and whether or not an RT implies consent. In my opinion a re-tweet is definitely implied consent!

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I am a twitter aficionado (I love the educational and informational resources available on twitter.) Knowing that about me, my virtual colleague Maria Peagler, who created Social Media Online Classes invited me to make guest video appearances throughout her online twitter courses. She is now allowing me to use those initially proprietary guest videos (that only her paying students got to see!) in this four part series I’ll call twitter 101.

We start the series with how Maria and I met. It was her generous offer of a free and useful scheduling gift that launched our online friendship. (Hint: people love free stuff!) Maria was a featured speaker at Tory Johnson’s Spark & Hustle conference last summer and was recently profiled by Tory as a “Daring Doer.” Maria regularly helps small business owners succeed by teaching them to use social media to engage their customers. Here then is my one minute introductory twitter video to her course.

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MarketingMel visits with Bob and Carl on AM 910 WJCW "Thinking Out Loud"

The popular talk Tri-Cities radio talk show “Thinking Out Loud” has been a wonderful place to talk about social media, business and communications trends and strategies. I’ve been honored to be on the show from time to time ever since I started my business, MarketingMel. Dave Hogan and Carl Swann are beloved radio talk show hosts who are favorites with Tri-Cities business professionals. I recently paid a visit to the Carl ‘N Dave show on AM 910 WJCW to talk about my trip to the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston. From mobile to video and even the passing of Steve Jobs and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki’s reaction, we covered the information in a fast-paced 12 minutes. Veteran radio man and trend-watcher Bob Lawrence was filling in for Dave that day as we talked new media and more. (Click here and on the “Listen to Podcast Digital Social Media Breakthroughs.”) What are some subjects you would like to hear discussed in our future “Thinking Out Loud” conversations?

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Editor’s Note: This post is by guest blogger and friend, Cathy Rodgers of 7wavesmarketing.

Everywhere I look, it seems the same message is being told: “invest in content,” “know who you are trying to reach,” and “the story is important.” Telling the story of what goes on behind the front door of a business is something we’ve been saying since the beginning of 7Waves. There is something unique about each and every business and there is a story that needs to be told. I invite you to take a fresh look at your business from the outside and ask yourself, “what would people want to know about my products, my place in the community, or the dedication of the founders and work team”?

Here are a few points of inspiration to help you further your brand or that of your client, along with a few suggestions for experimentation.

1. Nourish your brand: Have a brainstorming session with your team on how to boost the level of visibility and awareness in your community.

2. Find the story: Go back to the beginning and find the reason for the start of the business. This can be the foundation of a new press release or a blog article.

3. It’s more than a logo: A business continually creates and lives their brand. It’s more than a strategy or plan, it’s even beyond a vision statement – it’s about articulating passion for your own products and services.

4. Form a Partnership: One of the best examples for a partnership between a non-profit and for profit business I’ve seen was formed during a local political campaign. A local business already sponsoring a non-profit organization chose to enhance their visibility at a scheduled walk which included a table where most companies set out flyers, banners, and giveaways. In this case, the table was occupied by a political candidate, and the sponsoring company got two for one.

5. Tell your story with photos: It’s been proven that entries or posts which get the most comments on Facebook have photos. Photos create enthusiasm for a brand, make others want to be at an event, or desire the benefits of a product.

6. Promote others: Success stories not only promote your clients, but can attract future business partners, while creating good will for your business.

7. Social media: The story should be told in different ways across all researched mediums (and choosing your channels depends on the audience). For instance, if your audience is on Facebook, then you need to be there. – If you think your audience is on Twitter, then do an experiment for a set period of time and see if developing relationships there is worth your time. – No matter what method is chosen for brand promotion, it’s important to have the website and blog as the home base of operations.

So what’s your story?

Cathy Rodgers is the owner of Seven Waves Marketing, a social media, public relations, and online marketing company. She focuses on website content and Facebook strategies, and has more than 20 years of freelance writing experience for prominent newspapers, business publications, websites and nonprofit organizations.  Visit Seven Waves Marketing or look for @7wavescathy on Twitter. 

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Ben Mezrich with 7wavesCathy and MarketingMel

I had the great fortune to meet some of the world’s social marketing thought leaders at IMS ’11 Boston. One of those was Ben Mezrich, a true raconteur and author of the book The Accidental Billionaires which formed the basis for the movie, The Social Network. Mezrich, unlike the other presenters who used all kinds of glitzy power point presentations, simply stood on the stage and told stories. The audience was mesmerized.

He said that he was not an “overnight sensation” as some would portray him, rather he has been writing since 1995. He shared with us how the fact that he did not know how to drive limited him to certain neighborhood pubs in Boston. With his writer’s powers of observation he watched at one pub as numerous M.I.T. students handed over $100 bills to the bartender. “I don’t know about where you live, and in Las Vegas they come out of the ATM machine, but in Boston people don’t use $100 bills. So I asked the guys where they were getting them.” Thus began the story of  Bringing Down the House a tale of MIT students who game the Vegas blackjack tables. “Blackjack is beatable,” asserted Mezrich who even traveled to Vegas with the hard-working (but now banned-from-casinos) students who practiced up to three hours a day to beat the odds.

Because of the fame he gained from that book (he accidentally hung up on Kevin Spacey thinking he was an MIT student playing a prank) people began approaching him with story ideas. One such person was Eduardo Saverin, Mark Zuckerberg’s now famous Harvard room-mate and business partner. “Why should I write fiction when non-fiction is this good?” asked Mezrich who had almost completed his book when a court ordered Saverin to never speak with him again. “For five percent of Facebook I wouldn’t speak to me again either,” Mezrich noted.

With tales as colorful as his book and the movies that follow, I can’t wait to read Mezrich’s next book, Sex on the Moon, a story of astronauts who, let’s just say do some interesting things with moon rocks. Since fact is stranger than fiction, guess we’ll all have to read the book won’t we?

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I had the privilege of attending the first Hubspot Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston in September 2008. That conference was a true “game changer” for me as I heard both Seth Godin and David Meerman Scott telling those of us interested in social media marketing that we were on the edge of something big. It was a pleasure to return three years later to realize how true their words really were and to see how far we as professional marketing and communications people have come. (You can see my video interview from IMS11 on The Pulse Network here.)

Over the course of the next few weeks I plan to share nuggets of information about the outstanding thought leaders who spoke to us.

I’ll start with my favorite, noted social media marketing guru and author Guy Kawasaki. (Guy truly had “rock star” status at this conference as attendees, myself and friend Cathy Rodgers included, lined up to meet him.)

Guy Kawasaki at IMS11 with MarketingMel and 7wavesCathy

In preparation to hear Guy I read his book “Enchantment.” Like all authors, they talk about their latest book when onstage. But Guy has a disarmingly charming way about him that keeps you mesmerized by his stories. He is, well, enchanting.

Here are 10 of my takeaways:

1. Likeability: Have a marvelous smile (Mari Smith’s charming smile was his example), dress equal to your peers and pefect your handshake.

Facebook guru Mari Smith has a great smile

2. Achieve Trustworthiness:  Become bakers, not eaters. (Great word picture isn’t it?) Trust others. Default to “Yes. How can I help you?”

3. Perfect your product. He used the Ford MyKey program in which parents can pre-set the volume and top speed of a car as an example. Provide value. It is much easier to enchant with really good stuff!

4. Have a mantra. Guy’s is “empower people.” What’s yours?

5. Conduct a pre-mortem. Ask “why will our product fail?” Come up with all of the reasons beforehand to ensure its success!

6. Plant many seeds. I loved this one. Guy talks about how Marketing 1.0 meant “sucking up to a traditional media hierarchy.” Marketing 2.0 with the power of social networking is flat. The people make it successful and “nobodies are the new somebodies.”

7. Enchant all the influencers!  He gave us a homework assignment to watch Justin Bieber’s movie “Never say Never.” (I did Guy!) Justin and his team enchanted all of the influencers from viewers of his YouTube videos to moms, to girls in parking lots who wanted tickets.

8. Invoke Reciprocation: When you do something for someone and they say “thank you” say, “I know you would do the same for me.”  Think about the power in that line! Then enable people to pay you back.

9. Presentations: Sell your dream! Guy says that Steve Jobs didn’t sell an iPhone he sold something cool and thin and sexy.  Customize your introduction every time and keep your presentation to the 10-20-30 rule; 10 slides, 20 minutes, 30 point font.

10. Use technology to enchant. Don’t make it hard for people to engage with you. He talked about removing the speed bumps and obstacles to communicating. What was really humorous was that Guy was given a stick mic for his presentation. He is used to wearing a lapel mic. so his hands can be free. After several comments from Guy, the conference organizers got the hint, removed “the obstacle,” and presented him with a lapel mic.  ”Social media is core to existence,” he said. (And Facebook has certainly proven that again with its recent change announcements at F8.)

Although Guy said much more these were a few of my key takeaways. Do you plan to move forward on at least one of these in order to become more enchanting to your employees, customers and loved ones? I do!

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Maria Peagler

Editor’s note: This guest post is by Maria Peagler (@SM_OnlineClass), founder of SocialMediaOnlineClasses.com, providing 24/7 online courses (where I guest teach twitter) and mastermind consulting on social media tools and strategies. After meeting on twitter, Maria and I created our own social media mastermind group and, although we have never met in person, we share ideas regularly via Skype and we hang out together on Google+. 

I hear a common theme among my clients: “Help! I’ve got a Facebook page but don’t know what to do with it.”

Sound familiar? This is especially true for the small business owner, who is already a jack-of-all-trades and now needs to add social media guru to that entrepreneurial tool belt. You’ve built a great brand; let people get to know it using these Facebook 10 Commandments that put you and your company in the place of most potential.

These guidelines cover a wide range of techniques, from starting out with the correct account type, to claiming a custom URL for ease of use and increased SEO, to incorporating your new social media platform into all of your marketing strategies. Don’t feel like you need to tackle them all at once: set small goals, about one per week, and by the end of 4th quarter 2011, you’ll have an outstanding presence on Facebook, and you’ll reap the rewards in 2012.

Note: 

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Friends Hands by Fabulous Shannen

The following is a guest post by SoloPR weekly twitter chat colleague, Judy Gombita. A Canadian Public Relations professional, she is also this blog’s first international guest blogger.

Many people had primary or secondary school teachers who left an indelible mark and provided unique life lessons; I was blessed to have several such guiding lights as I evolved into adulthood.

One was a wonderfully inspiring and creative, enthusiastic and somewhat eccentric English teacher named Mrs. Rusty Ross (no, she didn’t have red hair). Ostensibly, her incredibly popular class was on Shakespeare. But amongst our (often self-absorbed) teenaged selves, we referred to it as The Class on Life. Definitely we studied Shakespeare—with a rigour and comprehension that proved excellent preparation for my first-year university course a few years later. But the real contribution Mrs. Ross gave us was illustrating how Will’s own understanding of the world, in particular people and their ambitions and motivations regarding relationships, really weren’t very different from current times.

And just like William Shakespeare created new words and understanding of human nature, so did Mrs. Ross gift us. For example, how relationships with people scale, from early acquaintances to friendships.

Evermore inserted into my lexicon was her novel word and intermediary concept: “friendlies.”

According to Mrs. Ross, your friendlies are more than acquaintances, but haven’t reached the status of fully bloomed, time-tested lasting friends. You know, the “for life” kind of friend.

Channelling Mrs. Ross when it comes to online relationships

I’m a huge proponent of the power and possibilities of social media, particularly for info sharing, networking and cultivating relationships. But I also characterize myself as a social media pragmatist. Recently, I contributed Teasing out the potential of Twitter chats, Part I and Part II to commpro.biz. In fact, it was through #solopr (one of my “featured” chats) that I met Marvellous Mel, proprietress of this captivating blog.

I respect and very much like everything I know about Mel—her smarts, integrity, sector expertise, warmth, people skills and sense of humor. Yet in my mind at this stage I still classify Mel as a “friendlie” rather than a friend.

Why?

Simply because we haven’t known each other long enough to test the long-term strength of our online alliance. Yes, we’ve moved large amounts of our conversations offline, sharing more personal information and comparing thoughts, joined networks on LinkedIn, Circled one another on Google+, etc. Despite geographical challenges, we hope to meet face to face at some stage. Not once has a touch point with Mel given me pause.

But it’s still early days.

My analogy

An analogy I often use (I believe I’m the originator, but if I unconsciously co-opted it from someone else, it’s unintentional) is that relationships are like slowly peeling an onion. Most of the time an onion’s layers are fresh, firm and sweet smelling. But every now and then you peel an onion where you hit a brown and soggy layer—maybe even a bit musty and slimy. The question is whether the onion is mainly good (after a bit of judicious editing, talks or negotiations) or if it should be unceremoniously tossed away as largely unusable, i.e., not worthy of the work or consumption experience.

If you travel or live with people you quickly learn how their onion peels out. But online relationships are different. It’s a lot trickier finding out how authentic people are regarding their online personas: how much of what they share can be trusted, ego, their core values, how they treat people (online and off) and so on.

And of course, this works both ways.

Peeling into my thesis a bit more

Recently I’ve been openly critical about how fast people are to append the “friend” and “trust” tags in the online sphere. I believe we need to slow down online friendships and trust and stop devaluing these time-taking concepts.

A notable example: automatically curating blog posts of “tribe” mates into Twitter (even if oh-so-virtuously manually clicking the send button). Forgive me if I think it’s a bit musty and slimy when robo-curation perpetrators suggest we “trust” that their “friends” of three or so months produced posts warranting our valuable reading time. Why should I have faith in their curation decisions in regards to me, when the majority of people observed I’d classify as online acquaintances, not even friendlies?

When this objectionable practice of automating trust first impinged on our collective consciousness, Mel independently voiced the exact reaction as me (as did #solopr’s founder, Kellye Crane).

The fact that our tingly onion sense was the same moved Mel another step up the ladder from friendlie to friend, because critical thinking and articulating objections against perceived dodgy behaviour are things I value.

Offering up my onion for perusal

When Mel lobbied me to write a guest post on her blog, I was touched.

As thanks for trusting I’d contribute something of value, I decided to gift Mel’s space with some personal evolutionary history and a unique word and analogy—concepts I hadn’t fully gelled together or introduced in any other blog post: Mrs. Ross’ definition of friendlies, how relationships are like peeling an onion, plus a need to slow down online friendships and trust.

My hope is that these reflections help move me another step up her friendship ladder.

Some final appeels (sic)

Whether in your professional or personal life, lasting relationships take time; people who work in public relations certainly are cognizant of this fact.

By all means, explore possibilities in the online realm and make lots of new acquaintances. And if all the bytes are feeling right, proactively move into the friendlies phase. But take time to build alliances; maybe even pause to compare and contrast them with your offline friendships.

And never take time away from nurturing relationships that were earlier peeled and stood the onion sniff test of time.

Judy Gombita

Judy Gombita is a Toronto-based public relations and communication management specialist, with more than 20 years of employment and executive-level volunteer board experience, primarily in the financial and lifelong learning nonprofit sectors. She is the co-editor and Canadian contributor (since 2007) to the international, collaborative blog, PR Conversations. Find her on Twitter.

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MarketingMel with firm intern ETSU PR student Sarah Williams Rowan

College students and recent college grad’s connect with me on a regular basis. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t hear from a rising public relations/communications graduate who wants to learn how to get a job in my chosen profession of communications and public relations.  I always try to make time for them. (I think it goes back to my days as an intern at WKBW-TV in Buffalo. I learned so much from my wonderful mentor there that I’ve wanted to give back ever since.) As proof, I’ve generally had an intern throughout most of my career and one of my most popular blog posts ever was “How to get a job in Public Relations: Eleven tips from a PR pro“.

This generation of 20-somethings calls themselves Generation R for Recession. They say that unlike what their baby-boomer parents had, the world is no longer a guaranteed place of hope for a brighter future. Times are tough out there. I hear it at church and as I walk my dog in my neighborhood. Just last evening a neighbor told me of his daughter, her husband and their two young children who have all been forced to move back home with him and his wife. However graduates should not despair. Just like cream quality candidates will rise to the top.

Here are a few job-seeking tips I’m providing to Generation R to help recent grad’s get there. Please share this post with others who may benefit from it.

1. A picture really IS worth 1,000 words! Have a professional photo made ( head/head and shoulders shot) and use it when connecting with others through social media channels. (If you can’t afford a photographer didn’t you have a friend who was a photography major who’s also looking for work now and who might trade services with you? They probably need a news release about themselves/their latest show.) Recently I spoke with a young female graduate whom I originally thought to be a hoax! Why? She had a man’s name and her photo showcased her in an alluring red, strapless dress…perfect for college formals but not so perfect for the hardened former journalist casting a suspicious eye upon it! When my current intern (seen in the photo above) first connected with me she had a polished, professional photo accompanying her resume. Bravo for people who recall that P.R. is arguably an image business!
2. Your name is your brand: If you have a man’s first name and you are female be sure to incorporate your middle name into your presence so that people can determine your gender. This is important because often we see men hiding behind revealing photos of women online.
3. Be there: By that I mean, meet the professional communicators in the spaces we inhabit. For example, we welcome new college PR grad’s to our #soloPR chat ever Wednesday at 1 PM eastern. Stop in, you may learn something and make some great connections. Visit and comment on our blogs and talk with us on twitter.
4. Connect with the thought leaders in your field (both online and “IRL”): Where are the thought leaders in your field? No doubt they’re online and they’re involved with various social media channels. Be sure to connect with them. Learn the fine art of impressing them with your savvy and know-how while simultaneously listening to and responding to them/ their concerns. Also, be present at business networking events in your community. Don’t bemoan and whine about where your live. Make the most of it (or move!)
5. Create Content Now! One recent Gen R grad whom I’ve advised from time to time moved to Nashville to find his fame and fortune. David Lyle Ford has done several things right along the way. 1- He connected with me and other thought leaders and gained our friendship and trust. 2- He recently started writing as a means to create his personal brand while providing a social networking service to others with his blog The Social Drifter. This also showcases his writing skills, key to any professional communicator.
6. Stay educated! Just because school’s over doesn’t mean your education is. Sign up for free webinars in your field to stay on top of the latest happenings in your profession. Read, read, read to keep up with what’s going on.  Use your library to read free books (You can even check out a Kindle at ours!) Read what the thought leaders are talking about online and then read the books they reference.
7. What’s new? Be aware of the news. Meeting people in marketing/PR who don’t keep up with current events is always a bit of a surprise to me. Know what’s going on around you and in the world.

What tips do you have to add for Generation R? Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a Gen R member yourself I’d love to hear from you!

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My friend Sandy Ratliff understands small business. Sandy’s a star marketer at the Virginia Department of Business Assistance and travels all around her state sharing her wealth of knowledge with small business owners. Here’s how she describes what she does. “I primarily focus on helping individuals launch and expand business within my 25 county service area of Southwest Virginia.   I do about 40+ workshops a year and over 200 counseling sessions with new and existing business.”

Sandy and I originally met on twitter and our friendship has blossomed to occasional lunches and regular contact through our social networks.
Recently she reached out to me to ask for my input on tips to provide small businesses who want to advertise.

It was an interesting question since the whole field of advertising has been turned on its head over the past few years with the advent of social networking for business. Clients now obtain information when, where, why and how they want it. (For more information be sure to check out David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing and PR)

Here is the list we discussed and that Sandy presented to her clients:

1. Look at the demographics of the media source: Does it reach your target audience? Example: I used to be the executive editor of a high end regional lifestyles publication. One of our advertisers, the owner of a classy gentlemen’s clothing store, swore by his success with our publication and said the price was worth it.
2. In what markets will it run? Example: If you are a small neighborhood based gym do you really want to run a radio ad that will reach thousands? We’re moving to an era of geo and micro-marketing.
3. Be educated: Know the media source coming to meet you in advance. Know your target audience and how best to reach them.
4. How does your target audience like to hear from advertisers? Coupons? Facebook? Twitter? Daily deals? Ask them!
5. Can you do it yourself? Google and Facebook have brought advertising opportunities direct to the small business masses. Experiment with some online D.I.Y.
6. Cause marketing: Recently MarketingMel had the opportunity to sponsor a portion of the PTA night at the Johnson City Cardinals baseball game along with one of my client’s, CapTeeVation. Together we paid for the hot dog supper provided to the first 250 through the gates. What a great opportunity to support something very positive in our community; education. Look for things that your company believes in and then get behind them. You’ll reap multiple rewards!

What are some tips that you’ve used effectively in small business advertising? Please feel free to share here. I’ll be glad to add them to the list.

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I’m taking a deep breath as I begin creating this post with the knowledge that I may lose a “real” friend or two in what I’m about to write. I know this from first hand experience because I’ve already lost one “friend” over the same subject nearly a year ago. But here goes….it’s my opinion, shaped after years in professional communications with the past several of those spent immersed in the online world of communications and social media.

So here it is: I don’t want to be friends with your 8 year old on Facebook. Here’s why:

1. The Rules: Facebook states that you are supposed to be 13 years old in order to have your own account. I realize many people think rules were made for others and not for them but it’s handy to have a rule to point to when taking a position.

Granted, I know Mark Zuckerburg wants to lower the Facebook age limit (who wouldn’t when they’re selling advertising?) I did come across this excellent article from Psychology Today while researching this blog post that should help parents of tweens make informed decisions for their child as they contemplate them creating a Facebook presence.

2. Lies and Damn Lies: If you ignore Rule #1 above then you are teaching your child to create falsehoods from the start. (As you know, Facebook asks for a date of birth and the child obviously can’t use their real DOB.) OK so it may be  just a “teeny white lie” but….

3. Cognitive Reasoning: I am amazed at the number of adult friends I have on Facebook who fall for some of the scams I’ve seen going around (remember the one about Osama Bin Laden?) Well, if adults fall for these hoaxes, how easy would it be to mislead a child? Furthermore do you recall Piaget’s thoughts on logic from your Psyche. 101 class? He says children really begin to think logically around the age of 12.

4. Not everybody’s your friend: Where do I start? Anyone seen the news lately? If you have then you know what I’m talking about. My heart still aches for the parents of the eight year old who walked seven blocks to his day camp in New York only to meet his killer along the route.

5. There are bad viruses and bad people out there: It’s true. I have seen them both but I’d just as soon shield your 8 year old from them. Heaven help us if we should accidentally pass on or connect a child to a virus. Parents, in case you’ve had your head in the sand be sure to check out this article Should I Cancel My Kids’ Facebook Account?

6. Should kids really know all my business? I’ve shared this thought with friends who feel the same way. We have nothing to hide but do you always want a little kid in the room while you’re having a conversation with adults?

7. I love kids! Although some of you may think otherwise, I actually love children very much and am a parent myself. That’s why I’m writing this post. Better to err on the side of caution and keep all of our kids safe.

Finally, I had been thinking about writing this when I ran across that Psychology Today post above about the all-knowing world we now live in. What the author says to tweens and teens is spot on in my opinion. But let’s start thinking even a few years younger as little Johnny and Suzy create the profile that will follow them the rest of their lives.

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Editor’s note: This post is from guest blogger Kellye Crane, creator and founder of SoloPR.

Kellye Crane

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Maria Peagler

Editor’s note: The following is a guest blog post from my friend entrepreneur Maria Peagler. Maria will be a guest speaker on social media at  Tory Johnson’s Spark and Hustle small business boot camp in Atlanta this summer.

Business blogs are filled with case studies of how social media helps businesses flourish and compete in an online marketing age. Today I’m offering a personal story of how and why I used social media, really as a last resort, to promote my business to an international stage.

September 2008: 3,000 copies of my indie-published book arrived in my warehouse after I had invested $25,000 on its production and printing. Color Mastery was a four-color softcover book, with over 200 illustrations and photographs, on museum-quality paper. It was my eighth title, but my first in the quilt market, so I was unknown and needed a big way to promote the book. I had plans for trade shows (another investment of thousands), advertising, and marketing materials. But something changed that forever.

The recession.

It hit my family with a devastating blow, as my husband is a luxury home builder, and his business halted overnight. It was as if someone had unplugged the phone from the wall, because it just stopped ringing. American consumers slapped their wallets shut, and I was in trouble, as my marketing budget was now necessary to keep my husband’s business afloat.

How was I going to sell those books?

I was forced to get creative with almost no money for marketing and promotion. I already had a blog, but I knew that wasn’t enough, on its own, to move 3,000 books. I had to do something big. I decided on a blog tour, which was almost unknown at the time. I liked it because it was an online version of a book tour, allowed me to reach an international audience, and I could conduct it over a concentrated period of time for sustained interest and demand. The result?

Color Mastery skyrocketed to #10 on Amazon’s top ten list for Quilting books, and it consistently made appearances in that top ten list over the next two years. My blog traffic increased 1,000%, sales tripled, my social network subscriptions all increased, and I received bookings for interviews, lectures, and book signings. I continued to keep up my social media efforts for those two years, selling 8,000 copies of Color Mastery, and was so successful I created a start-up helping other small businesses with their social media. SocialMediaOnlineClasses.com is an online course site where I coupled my 20 years of training experience with my social media success to teach others how to enjoy those same results.

My top three tips for any small business wanting to use social media to promote?

Be willing to make mistakes. I tried many different social media campaigns and promotions, and not all worked. You have to be willing to fail before you hit it big, so don’t quit on social media if your first experience isn’t successful. It’s often the offbeat promotions that will surprise you. Before I had the confidence to shoot YouTube videos, I made a primitive slideshow on Slideshare that continues to garner more hits than any slick video I’ve ever done. I’m almost embarrassed by its simplicity now, but it works.

Realize results take time. My blog tour was a two-week affair, but it took two months of solid preparation and planning to develop, and years of blogging to understand the medium before that. Even a short five-minute YouTube video takes time to do well and get results. Viral is an outlier, and not something you should count on. Ashton Kutcher may have millions of Twitter followers, but the rest of us build those networks everyday, one contact at a time.

Collaborate for maximum impact. The best results I’ve gotten in social media are when I collaborate with others for a true win-win. This blog post is a collaboration between Mary Ellen and me, as she has generously provided me with a guest spot. My blog tour was a collaboration of ten bloggers who promoted my book in exchange for exclusive content. My “Color-of-the-Month” shows were collaborations between quilt designers and me, and those shows continued to sell my book and keep it in Amazon’s top ten list.

Social media wasn’t in my original plans, but when I saw its results, it soon became my primary promotional tool. What’s your story of how social media has helped you and your business?

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Google + makes circles fun again!

When my first invitation arrived for Google+ I was deliberately unplugging and connecting with family over the 4th of July weekend. That delayed me a few days in starting until the second invitation arrived. After just a couple of play dates (yes, that’s what it feels like)  in the Google+ sandbox here are a few quick observations.

Circles are fun, remember? Yes, just like in pre-school, you get to play in different circles. Best part, you get to choose who you want to play with. That’s right, you make and label your circles of friends and they won’t even know what you’ve called them. And it’s so much easier to segment friends than it is on Facebook (or on the playground). From a public relations perspective, just imagine the implications of having all of your favorite journalist peeps or key bloggers in their own circles.

No games! (So far anyways.) You may love seeing what your friends are planting in Farmville but I use social media as an extension of me/my personal brand and I like to keep it on a professional level. (Yes, I’m the person who X’s out those Mafia Wars Facebook posts!)

Everyone wants to play: Unlike the networking invitation requests I get for numerous other sites this one caught my attention and seemed well worth spending time on. What caused me to notice was the buzz I was hearing from other enthusiastic thought leaders like Chris Brogan.

Strictly business (for now): Because Google+ is supposedly only issuing invitations sparingly I’m generally connecting with influencers and thought leaders that I already know from twitter. That’s quite different from the way I started on Facebook; first with family and friends then as an evolving business tool.

Let’s hang out: I wanted to hang out today (i.e. video chat with some of my friends) but darned if they weren’t all away! I’ll catch them next time and look forward to the Skype-like feature! Interestingly, right after Google+ came out with this, Facebook quickly followed suit by teaming with Skype for a video chat feature. Let’s face it, video connections are the way to go!

Where did that elephant in the room come from? OK, deep breath here…..Facebook appears to have a social networking competitor on its hands. Granted, Facebook has a significant head start of just over 750 million users, but things do change rapidly (Anyone remember bag phones?) What’s interesting is that these two behemoths will have tabs on just about everything anyone could want to know about us; and we’ll have freely given the information to them! Stay tuned and watch where this one is going. (I love this infographic comparing the two social networking sites from Guy Kawasaki.)

What are your impressions of the new social networking site? I would love to hear your comments on Google +. And hey, feel free to come find me in a circle near you.

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Recently I was invited to the founding meeting of a women’s leadership organization. It was a fascinating foursome that got together at that first gathering in a local tea room. One woman is a leader in local Junior League, another is a former Chicago and Wall Street trader and another is an elementary school vice principal who speaks fluent French. I, the communications entrepreneur, rounded out the group. Together we decided on a name, “The Women’s Leadership Salon.” The group’s purpose is to gather monthly to discuss books about leadership. After dinner we adjourned to  the tea room’s front porch. If you can imagine a Tennessee summer breeze kissing your face coupled with a lively conversation about pet dogs, you can picture our meeting there  that first evening.

We decided our first reading assignment would be John C. Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You.  I recommend the book to anyone interested in leadership. There was one chapter that stood out to me: Vision. In it Maxwell tells of the difference between a winner’s mentality and a loser’s mentality. Quoting Bobb Biehl Maxwell writes, “Winners focus on winning big-not just how to win, but how to win big. Losers, however don’t focus on losing they just focus on getting by.”  What has your focus of attention? Maxwell poses one other question as a fill-in-the-blank from Moishe Rosen. If you had anything you wanted with unlimited resources what would you do? The sentence reads:

If I had __________________________________

I would ____________________________________

What’s your dream?  Are you thinking big or just getting by? I’d love to hear from you about your vision, especially if you are an entrepreneur. Let’s support one another in our efforts- and keep on dreaming!

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