Connected on a Snow Day

If you grew up in an area of the world where there was winter, you were privy to a certain rite of passage. The word would begin to spread. Could it be true? Was school closed tomorrow? Would it be a day to play and be free?

This week, most of eastern North America is getting slammed with the worst storm in years and the social web is filled with comments about the crush of snow.

As we grow up, the concept of a snow day changes rapidly. The prospect of a day off, is replaced by an earlier alarm, slow commute or packed transit options as the collective grump slowly makes its way to work. School may be cancelled but work remains open and we're expected to make it in.

But with close to two billion of us online doing work, connecting through social channels, conducted webinars and conversing via email, how many are really stuck in bad weather? We have laptops and mobile devices, Internet access and video conferencing which all help us stay connected, do business and meet deadlines no matter the forecast.

While others commiserate about the weather, how can you move your business forward on a snow day?

knealemann | How can I help?

image credit: realsociology

Fame and Fortune Guaranteed

Don’t let any channel be in charge of your success.
That is your job.

As online social networking spaces continue to explode, it is becoming easier to build online collateral that some may mistake as a brand.

Since branding occurs between customers and is not created in a chemistry lab, your effort to give the appearance of expertise can only take you so far.


Do You Like Me Yet?

If you meet someone at a party and they press up against you and shove their business card and a pamphlet in your face, you would probably call security. But some feel comfortable jamming in-boxes with unsolicited sales pitches perhaps because of the appearance it may be easier than building another relationship.

Your quest for instant success,
may irreversibly hurt the brand you are trying to create.

As with many industries, some who are less than skilled claim to be experts. I was approached by a company recently who guaranteed they could help me market my company through social channels yet their online footprint was virtually nonexistent. Last week, there was promotional material floating around for an e-course and it read like it was written by a child.

Social media take a lot of time and even more commitment. The work is worth it but not if you are going to try it for a while and hope it does miracles for you. Other media or even an inflatable gorilla on your roof can't even promise that.

Limited Time Offer

You and your company are not a campaign. I don’t care how many followers you have and you don’t care how many friends I have if we can’t help each other get there.

Return on Investment has been a phrase uttered in business silos since we were trading rocks for rice and now with some people the phrase has been changed to return on now. Clients want chiselled in stone success guaranteed. I have been in media and marketing for twenty-six years, nothing is guaranteed.

What is certain is your ability to stick with it, monitor your results, review your organization for strengths and understand that you are building a business, not a Twitter following.

What are your thoughts?

knealemann
Create experiences not campaigns.

The Real Power of Community

They're People Too.

I've been over thinking a few projects lately and decided to strip it all down to the core.

Years of building relationships and I had forgotten help was right there.

Once in a while, you need to ask your community for a hand on something or feedback on an idea.


Every now and then you need to reach out and ask for some time for a call or discussion to flush out the stuff that seems to keep coming up within the confines of your own brain.

Don’t discard that idea or thought. Stop listening to the naysayers and dream killers. Look around and find those who you can reach out to for some perspective.

This is not about others doing the work for you or patting you on the head. All too often we just need to get it out and that is not going to happen with someone you just met or through a few tweets.

Numbers are irrelevant if you can't call on your community for help when you need it. The same holds true if someone asks us for a hand.

Thanks to everyone who was gracious to give me some of their time this week. That was fun.

knealemann
create experiences not campaigns

image credit: quangkhoi

Creating Your Social Brand

What Others Say About You

The fascinating issue about social media is that no matter who you meet you can get an opinion.

There are those who say they want to get more involved but are intimated or don’t know how to move forward. There are others who have some knowledge but have made the personal decision to become an expert and tell others how to navigate the space.

Who can forget the ever growing ‘you should do it that way’ group which is annoying beyond words. And there are vultures at every party so we have to watch out for the spam, scam and scrammers.

What do you do if you want to improve your social brand? How should you act? What should you post? Where should you go?

Let’s examine the word “social” which seems to be a catch-all these days. I am a social guy, I don’t have trouble in most social situations but others have called me too outgoing or talkative. Yup, that’s me. Oh well, deal with it or don't.

I can navigate discussions in a wide range of subjects because I love to learn about others and that is my social side.

Perhaps you are more reserved and you are intimidated by a guy like me? Perhaps you enjoy smaller groups of friends and a quiet dinner over being lobbed in to a speed networking event like the one I attended this week?

Brand is a term that is misused constantly.

Like viral, you cannot create a brand. That happens between customers. Like reputation, it's what others say when it's not in the room.

I can’t tell you how to feel about a certain experience – that’s your job. Some claim to be “brand experts” or run a “brand agency” which is not the whole story. As marketers, we can set the table and create an atmosphere but that’s it.

No one knows how Old Spice has become the most talked about company on the social web this minute. The team behind the campaign hoped it would happen, but no one can claim they predicted the reaction.

So back to you, back to your social brand, how do you create it?

Maybe the best place to start is to be yourself.
Do you think that will work?

knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

image credit: onbloggingwell

Finding Your Voice on Social Networks

Their Way Is Irrelevant

Yesterday, I hosted a panel at Marcom 2010. The title was “Twitter: How to Engage, Connect and Be Authentic”.

The point of the discussion was not about twitter.com, it was about each person and their organization navigating the two-way online conversation. Great group, we could have spent all day talking about it.

Cave Drawings and Hieroglyphics

Social networking is as old as we have walked the earth but that is not what makes the news these days. The discussion is about a digital revolution that is giving control and customization to each and every one of us. Companies and organizations are grappling with this new two-way conversation. Some are mastering it while others are challenged by it.

We have the world in our pocket on smartphones. Any computer manufacturer in the game will offer a tablet solution by the end of the year. And no doubt there is a team working on audio versions for our vehicles.

We don't have our jet packs yet, but we have our voice and we have our choice.

Hurry Instant Now

This has given us the chance to connect to people worlds apart who share our interests. Businesses, not-for-profits and governments that have embraced it have found ways to directly connect with their constituents.

I spent 22 years in the radio industry overseeing everything from programming, promotion and marketing campaigns and performing on-air shifts. On the eve of my first time on the radio, one of my mentors gave me invaluable advice – find your own voice.

Same with Social Channels

It takes time to find your voice, connect and engage. So if you are unsure you should dig deeper or whether your company or organization should get more involved, start listening and learning.

Marcom keynote speaker Mitch Joel summed up by saying if your products or offering suck, social media won’t save you. So if you think that these channels will be your quick fix, you will be disappointed.

This has nothing to do with the number of followers or tweets you have, it has to do with you being you and digging in and mucking around like we all had to when we started.

Are you read to find your voice?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: istock

Business and Buzzwords

None of us is immune.

We have all used the odd cliché or buzzword. I was at a presentation a few months ago and one of the speakers ended most sentences with “ok?” or “do you know what I mean?”

I spend the rest of the time counting his crutches.

If you own a white Honda, you see them all over the road. If you listen for buzz phrases, you will quickly find them everywhere too. Phrases that could perhaps be retired include "moving forward", “in this day and age” and “at the end of the day”. A bad one for me is "take it to the next level" - gotta stop usin' that one.

Gotta Give It 110%

Athletes are trained to string clichés and buzz phrases together while they sweat on the microphone and field a few soft balls from the TV guy between periods. How much of your meetings are filled with butt covering non committal doublespeak?

At SobCon this year, part of the presentation by Amber Naslund was on the buzzwords and phrases we seem to latch on to in social media - sustained engagement, relationship economy, two-way conversation, listen more sell less, etc. Her point was that we need to eliminate those crutches and focus on the real work. My point is that we can use them if we can define them and back them up.

Have you tried the "no buzz phrase" meeting, boss included?

It can be weird and uncomfortable at first but the results may surprise you. Toss in a game of buzzword bingo and magic may happen. The rules are simple, if anyone thinks someone else used an empty buzzword or phrase, they can stop the meeting and insist the person defines it.

We work 1800-2000 hours a year. Let's try and hide behind less empty sayings and have more meaningful collaboration.

Are you for it? What are up your favorites?

@knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

photo credit: studentactivities.bard.edu

Social Media? I Don't Get It.

What's Your Opinion?

Conversations seems to fall in to two camps these days. This week it happened in the same meeting.

On one side was someone having a discussion about the pros and cons of Twitter’s changes and on the other was someone who “doesn’t get it”.

You Are Right.

There are many business owners, managers, directors of not-for-profits and those in the public sector who fail to see the value of adopting channels that can be used to research their industry, decipher customers' needs and desires while direct competitors are doing it. That is their call.

If you don’t see the value, it has no value.

If you don’t understand why someone would “waste” time on all this “stuff” you are right. If your heart isn’t in it, no amount of stats will change your mind. If you want more evidence, here's an article from Fast Company.

Two conversations in the same meeting about Twitter. One person who is adamant about their feelings toward third party apps and promoted tweets while the other person simply doesn’t see the value of “wasting” their time.

Is it more important to "get it" or keep an open mind toward ways to integrate new opportunities for business growth?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: addogaudium