Do you know Alltop?

I love all compassing websites that give you a little bit of everything in one stop. If you are not familiar with Alltop, you are missing out on a virtual library of information.

My favorite Alltop stop is bookmarked. If you want the latest in social media news, click here.

Happy reading!

My biggest mistake

Knowing my company would eventually reach the age when it wanted to be part of digital marketing and participate in interactive social platforms, I started researching on my own two years ago to gain an edge. I formed relationships on Twitter, I participated in social networking events, went to conferences on interactive marketing and even got to the point of being asked to speak on a panel as an “expert” in my related field. In my perfect-world brain I thought, ‘When the time comes, they will ask for my expertise.’

Wrong.

Two years later my company is finally getting to the point where it wants to dip it’s toe into digital marketing waters – and the people who make the decisions are looking elsewhere for expertise. I can answer all of the questions asked in meetings, I can lay out strategy, brainstorm realistically and offer up suggestions for getting a campaign started. But it’s falling on deaf ears. Why? I never told anyone what I’ve been doing for the last two years.

I’m not pointing fingers. How would they know if I’ve never shared my knowledge? The error is completely mine. Unfortunately I will have to scrape my way to the top of the heap, and it’s going to be 14 times harder because no one trusts that I know what I’m talking about. In hindsight I should have:

1. written a summary report each time I attended a conference
2. made my blog public knowledge
3. put digital marketing strategy in front of decision makers from the beginning
4. continued to follow-up with my strategy, even when the decision makers weren’t listening
5. documented my actions by category with successes and failures in columns that could be related back to company successes and failure

If you want to get ahead, you can’t suddenly become an authority. You have to prove yourself publicly, which is what I plan to do from here on out.

My most popular post

In honor of the opening day of the Minnesota State Fair, I thought it only fitting to re-post my most popular blog post to date – Social Media is Like the State Fair. Enjoy!

The culture of “no”

I really enjoyed this article from Ragan called A communicators bid for social media in a culture of ‘no’ by Lindsey Miller, and thought it was worth sharing. For all of those who work for conservative companies afraid to dip executive toes into the social media pool, this is for you.

A communicators bid for social media in a culture of ‘no’

Positioning yourself as an expert

Last week I attended an industry convention in Chicago. One of the key elements I took away from the conference was about positioning yourself as an expert. While the lecture was specific to health insurance agents, I think the message is valid for any industry. Customer service is worthless. The presenter wasn’t indicating that customer service isn’t necessary. Instead he stated that people (customers/clients) are no longer loyal to one brand. In order to set yourself apart in your industry, you have to become an expert. You have to WOW your clients and build a raving fan base. If you don’t make some noise, your customers will move on.

So how do you position yourself as an expert? This is what I learned:

1. Offer online educational seminars and web interface for current customers and potential clients
2. Interact with clients on Facebook
3. Interact with your own industry and clients on LinkedIn
4. Spend money on  your website – lots of it
5. Introduce innovative solutions that no one else is offering
6. Present professional history
7. Don’t give clients a reason to leave your partnership

Internally, the speaker recommended hiring the best employees and keeping them with

• fringe benefits
• good vacation package
• fun days outside the office (team building)
• every other Friday in the summer off (for example)

Over and over again the speaker encouraged investing in technology, which in this day and age, creates customer relationships

• Create communications tools (e-mails, newsletters)
• Archive those educational webinar presentations that make you an expert
• Provide tools and resources, such as an online library that clients will want to return to
• Blog, blog, blog

His final piece of advice was to pay it forward. That means gift of self to your community in the manner of character, leadership and respect, which leads to admiration. “Get behind a cause in your community because you have to be holistic. You have to have it all,” he said.

Give yourself five action steps to become an expert and start with the basics. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish in the next 12 months and then communicate your action steps. If you make them public you’re more under the gun to actually complete the goals you set for yourself.

What do you think? Was he dead on or did he go a step too far? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Pet project

Social media in the corporate world is, well, a little slow right now <crickets chirping>

In the interim, I’ve started a personal pet project called Travel Snapshots. I invite you to check out what I do when I’m away from the office. Enjoy!

Twitterview

Yesterday I was honored to participate in Joel Carlson‘s daily “Twitterview,” a daily online interview he conducts with Twitter users. You can find a transcript to my conversation with Joel here.

Joel was a gracious host, and I had a great time!

Photo: As mentioned in my Twitterview, I love to travel. This is my best Mary Tyler Moore beret toss I could muster in France.

Upcoming interview

Watch the hashtag #jectv tomorrow (June 2) at 11:00 a.m. (C.S.T.) as I leave myself to the mercy of Joel Carlson for a chat about me, social media and perhaps a new tidbit or two.

The art of marketing art

This past weekend I attended the spring Saint Paul Art Crawl. Held in Lowertown Saint Paul, this annual event is the official signal that spring has arrived for all of us that live in the neighborhood. The farmers market opens, restaurants pull patio seats out on the sidewalk, and about 350 artists open their studios to the public for all to see what the winter cold has produced while snowbound for the last six months.

I spoke to many artists as I trekked from studio to studio. Little did they know that I was on an informal fact-finding mission. I wanted to see how many artists used social media, and what their public relations efforts were prior to the Crawl.

My small sampling of unscientific research found that most artists have websites, either standalone or through a collective service. About 50 percent I spoke with have Facebook fan/like me pages, but they don’t advertise them. Instead they lean on word-of-mouth to get new fans. There are other interactive online communities they participate in as well, but don’t advertise to the masses.

I only found two active Twitter users. There were two others who had accounts, but didn’t use them. And the biggest kerplunk? No one had ever heard of Four Square.

I sense an enormous void in the art community when it comes to social media. The reaction is the same as in other communities – it’s scary and no one knows how to make it work right out of the gate. I understand marketing is a tough nut for an artist. Some feel it takes away the creative integrity of their work. But I stood in proximity to over 350 individual art studios, and could not find one on Four Square? It was heartbreaking.

So artists who aren’t won over by social media – what do you need from us? The Minneapolis/Saint Paul area is packed with social media mentors. Would you take a class? Do you prefer one-on-one? Do we need to paint it out?

Talk to us. There are a lot of people that would be willing to help.

A blogversation

I had a great time being interviewed by Justin, a.k.a., “Dez” for his new weekly insight on local Twin Cities bloggers. You can find my interview here.

Thanks Dez!