Communication Breakdown

com•mu•ni•cate: To convey information about. To reveal clearly. To express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood.

In order to survive, companies need to look long and hard at job descriptions. Communications can no longer fall on the shoulders of a few people in some department.

If you live on your smartphone, perhaps your customers do too. If close to half of the almost two billion worldwide online users have a social networking profile on a website, perhaps the desire to connect along various channels is catching on. If you are in communications or marketing or public relations or social media or media relations, you know it can be an uphill battle to get buy-in from management.

Ignoring it Doesn't Make it Go Away

Often some view that part of their job is to protect the status quo and rest on past procedures. This does not stem from a lack of vision but we often stay with the monster we know rather than taking on the monster we don’t know. You may feel that they are blocking you from trying to integrate all these communication channels and you are not entirely correct.

Both Sides Now

It’s not enough to comprehend that the two-way conversation is occurring, it is imperative to embrace your ability to contribute to it – whatever that means to you. We are in the world’s largest cocktail party and it’s still the part of the evening filled with small talk. We are skimming the surface, finding our way, deciding what we want out of it but there is not just one way to participate. Some individuals and companies are doing great things and improving business but there are many who are still trying to figure it out. You may be one of them.

I don’t try and convince people that they can improve their business through online connections, I know they can but only if they will commit the work. You can say that eating better and exercising is good for you but empty words won’t get you the six-pack. This is not a lottery ticket. This is about changing some of your daily routine and having time to find out who’s out there.

They Said You Said

Despite our collective impatience, our job is to be patient with those who aren't convinced and are not ready for the river of information. It is up to us to educate the fearful and remind them that a Facebook group will not save a bad business idea and optimizing the website for a search engine can only happen if they know what people are searching for in the first place.

Branding is not achieved through a few tweets, your clients and customers decide on that. And the Internet will not magically save your business on its own but it can improve the bottom line if you open your mind and let it in. But it does not replace business acumen.

Let’s get back to work!

Kneale Mann

image credit: carbbon
original post: Oct 2010

Leaving Our Digital Footprint

Who's Watching Who

There is an old adage that the only person who is really concerned with you is you. The rest of us are far too busy worrying about us. But with the online world, that doesn’t stop us from being able to peer into each others’ life whenever it strikes our fancy.

Voyeurism is alive and well when we can leave our thoughts on a Facebook wall or Twitter stream and others can read a moment in time, any time they want. But I hear all too often "I just connect with my friends". That may be true, but it's often done in front of several hundred million people.

Ten to fifteen years ago, it was important for companies to have a place on the Internet where customers and potential customers could find out more about their offerings. Now it’s imperative for companies to not expect customers to come to them but rather they need to go where customers reside online. This is the difference between having a website and creating a web presence.

Watch Where You Step

With close to two billion of us surfing the web all trying to learn from each other, gain information, get each other’s attention and put our best out there, it can get distracting and overwhelming. Add to that, we are human, so we experience grumpy moments that can slip into our online activity. That flippant lash can hurt a company as evidenced by faux pas by many large respected brands in the last few years.

If you get into a heated discussion at work or with a customer, that is a one-on-one situation that can be diffused and resolved between the two of you. But when you engage in a similar discussion online you are doing it in front of anyone who cares to watch. And that makes companies nervous. Many are concerned about opening themselves up to the digital mob. After all, anyone with an Internet connect can publish anything they want.

Checking References

Human Resources managers and recruiters are using the social web more and more to find candidates for job openings and they aren’t just reading a well crafted resume or LinkedIn profile to gather information. That offhand remark you make on Quora can come back and bite you.

This is not to suggest we have to be perfect, because once you get that new gig you will need to be yourself but it does serve as a reminder that perhaps the next time we’re having a tough time or in a rough mood we may want to step away from the keyboard for a timeout.

Does that sound like a wise plan?

Kneale Mann

image credit: adrianakems

The Anatomy of Communication

com·mu·ni·cate: To convey information about. To reveal clearly. To express oneself in such a way that one is readily and clearly understood.

This week, the brilliant Mitch Joel wrote a post entitled The Agency of the Future. As a man who has been in the trenches for more than two decades, he knows of what he writes and walks the walk every day. You should visit his space daily as you will gain insight from a guy who is leading the charge of change and truly excited about it.

Mitch discussed the anatomy of the agency world but I think it goes far beyond one particular industry. In order to survive, companies need to look long and hard at job descriptions. Communications can no longer fall on the shoulders of a few people in some department.

We need to embrace our daily behavior within our organizations.

If you live on your smartphone, perhaps your customers do too. If close to half of the almost two billion worldwide online users have a social networking profile on a website, perhaps the desire to connect along various channels is catching on.

If you are in communications or marketing or public relations or social media or media relations, you know it can be an uphill battle to get buy-in from management.

Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away

Often some view that part of their job is to protect the status quo and rest on past procedures. This does not stem from a lack of vision but we often stay with the monster we know rather than taking on the monster we don’t know. You may feel that they are blocking you from trying to integrate all these communication channels and you are not entirely correct.

It’s not enough to comprehend that the two-way conversation is occurring, it is imperative to embrace your ability to contribute to it – whatever that means to you. We are in the world’s largest cocktail party and it’s still the part of the evening filled with small talk. We are skimming the surface, finding our way, deciding what we want out of it but there is not just one way to participate. Some individuals and companies are doing great things and improving business but there are many who are still trying to figure it out. You may be one of them.

This is not communications of the future, this is about now.

I don’t try and convince people that they can improve their business through online connections, I know they can but only if they will commit the work. You can say that eating better and exercising is good for you but empty words won’t get you the six-pack. This is not a lottery ticket. This is about changing some of your daily routine and having time to find out who’s out there.

This is not about letting the intern take care of your brand with a few tweets.

But then again, if you’re reading this, you already know that. So it is our job to be patient with those who aren’t convinced and aren’t ready for the river of information. It is up to us to educate the fearful and remind them that a Facebook group will not save a bad business idea and optimizing the website for a search engine can only happen if they know what people are searching for in the first place.

The Internet will not magically save your business on its own but it can improve the bottom line if you open your mind and let it in. But it does not replace business acumen.

There’s much work to be done. Are you ready?

knealemann
work with me: contact

image credit: calsncsu

Books | More Important Than Ever

How many books do you read?

I read and write every day.

But probably like you, I have become victim of the article mentality which consists of short pieces, websites, business manuals and research all tying up time that could be used to read a good book.

The publishing industry is changing like the music industry before it.


Creativity: More Important Than Ever

The ad agency, marketing and public relations models are distant cousins to those a decade ago and online channels are getting more crowded every minute. These are precisely the reasons why we need to read more books.

We are bombarded with material all day long. How much are we seeing and how much are we digesting? How has social media hindered this process?

How much of this content is worthy of our attention and retention?

When was the last time you read a book about your industry or business? How often do you disappear into a book simply to widen your horizons or expand your imagination and ideas?

Must Reads

I bought a bunch of books before the Holidays – all of which are on my ever growing “I really need to finally buy that one and actually read it” list.

And when I refer to books, those include the audio kind as well.

A stack of books resides on my desk. Each will be read (some will be re-read) and replaced by more from the list.

Read (or listen to) any good books lately?

@knealemann

image credit: flickr

Spam Scam Scram

There are more emails sent and received every day, than there are humans walking the earth.

We are officially overwhelmed by email, advertising, marketing, voice mail and gadgets. The chatter is deafening and the chances of being heard are getting tougher every day. And social media is the new petri dish for advertisers and marketers.

The attention span of hummingbirds

During one of our long phone chats about how we would change the radio industry for the better, my good friend Sean Demery asked, "What is the lottery jackpot in Toronto this week?" I said, "$10 Million". He quipped back, "And you think you are going to cut through with free concert tickets?" That was 10 years ago.

Those were the days, my friend...

If you have ever seen footage of an NHL game from the 60’s, you will notice how bare the arena looks. There are no ads on the boards, the stairs are clear of logos, it’s pure and clean. But as soon as one advertising agency, one PR expert, one savvy marketing person realized that there were ways to exploit any flat surface, that all changed.

Watch a European hockey game now and you can't see the ice or the players for all the advertising. It's gotten just a tad ridiculous. Then again, it seems to be working for NASCAR.

Shut it off..

If you decided that for just one day you were going to avoid all advertising, public relations or marketing messages, your only choice would be to sit still in a dark room with the lights off. And try not to hear thousands of those messages in your head whilst sitting in said dark room. When you emerge, someone will be hoping to catch your attention.

We are consuming (and often discarding) content and messages everywhere, all the time. Annual online advertising in estimated at $24 Billion in the U.S. and $1.6 Billion in Canada. In comparison, Obama & Co. bailed out AIG to the tune of $185 Billion. So, digital revenue streams have a way to go. Sadly, so does the clutter.

Spam vs. Conversation

If you work in marketing, advertising or public relations you have clients that want you to help them make more money. But how often are you interrupted by messages you didn’t ask for or calls from people you don’t know or flip up, pop up, drop down, auto email blasts, dancing avatars or skyscraper ads in your day?

We laugh whenever we get the Nigerian bank email or someone claims that it’s ‘no money down’, 'guaranteed' or 'a sure thing'. With the National No-Call List in effect for Canada and the U.S., telemarketers have had to look at other avenues for revenue growth.

Advertising on Twitter? Shock horror!

When I used to talk on the radio, I really had no idea who was actually listening. It’s the same with this post or any messages we send to each other. There are some great ideas and deals for us all to enjoy. Equally, there is no shortage of people who are happy to spam, scam and scram. Why do they do that? Enough people say yes to make it worth their while.

How do you cut through the noise and get your message to its intended receiver without it appearing like spam or an interruption?



photo credit: newsday.com

Seth Sums It Up In 38 Words

Even the casual observer of marketing, advertising, public relations and business knows Seth Godin. His daily blog – which just surpassed post number 3,000 is the #1 marketing blog in the world.

His best selling books include: Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us, Purple Cow, Meatball Sundae, The Dip, Small Is The New Big, All Marketers Are Liars, Free Prize Inside, The Big Red Fez, Survival Is Not Enough, and Permission Marketing.

Seth is real, he tells it straight, and he shares constantly. And today he wrote a blog that was 38 words and that’s all he needed.

Seth wrote
The closer you get to someone, something, some brand, some organization, the harder it is to demonize it, objectify it or hate it. So, if you want to not be hated, open up. Let people in. Engage. Interact.

It has inspired many who do this on a regular basis to shorten the message and get to the point.

So I will today...

Share often. Build relationships. Stop selling. Ask questions. Wait for the answers. Listen more. Empathize. Solve don’t tell.

What are your words?

@knealemann

TED2003