Congratulate and Encourage

We may never know why consumer’s become loyalists and advocates of our brand. We may never know exactly what they want from our company. But we do know how to congratulate and encourage. With social media we have an opportunity to become an integral part of these advocates life. We should congratulate their personal successes and life events. We should encourage them to follow their dreams. With any given company, we are trying to create the best possible life for our customer (otherwise we wouldn’t be in business). So why don’t we congratulate and encourage that life all the time?

Keeping Social Media Going

2010 has really started off in being “The Year of the Social” as I predicted in late 2009. It’s amazing, the interest level about learning what’s possible in this crazy communication environment. Of course there still is push back from some companies and there still is a lot of “what would happen if…” however there are some who are running forward without permission and asking for forgiveness later. But, even these leaders in the space are facing a consistent issue… Now that we have it started, how do we keep it going?

This question will rear its ugly face more than once as we move through our social world. With social media in its infancy, we are still trying to define an answer. The only tips I can give you right now is:

• Keep responding and answering fans, followers, friends
• Continue to share content of affinity organizations and information relevant to your brand message
• Cultivate relationships with your most loyal followers and your loudest influencers
• Build mini conversational campaigns around company milestones or important company dates
• Continue to scan the ecosystem for opportunities, discussion topics, etc.

What are your thoughts? How do you keep your social program going?

The Social Revolution

Are we in a revolution?

Revolution: “a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving”

With the above definition, we most certainly are. Since the beginning of marketing and business communications, we have been lead to believe that we tell people what to do and we tell the market what it needs. Now it’s a complete shift… the consumer has taken the reigns and is focused on finding companies/brands/products that will, not only listen to what they have to say, but also mold offerings to fit into the lifestyles of those consumers.

This way of “thinking and behaving” is definitely a drastic and far-reaching change from what we were doing only 5 years ago.

Now the question becomes… Are you a part of the revolution or the resistance?

Photo courtesy of Flickr - marcel601

Dear Facebook: Break down these silos

Dear Facebook:

You have an amazing platform; one that has barely scratched the surface of what is possible for consumer engagement. Thank you for that. However, I do have a request.

Brands on Facebook are not silos. Yes, we love the fact that we can send updates to our fans, interact with them on our wall, and provide valuable content on our tabs. But, we have affinities too. We want the ability to connect and engage with these affinity organizations. If we sell toothpaste, we want to be able to engage and be a part of the OperationSmile efforts or the new research provided by the ADA on their Facebook properties, as we hope they would want to be a part of ours. I ask you, please break down these silos and let our brand roam for the better. Let us engage our affinities and build a more holistic, more engaged community.

Sincerely,

Your Brands

Linchpin: A Godin Masterpiece

As of today, I am a changed man. I see things more clearly and look at the world through a different lens. All because, I know I am a genius, an artist, a Linchpin. I know that it’s not going to be an easy transition and there will be times where fear and resistance are going to ring through in my lizard brain, but I know I have a unique gift to offer, not only to myself, but to those around me. I vow from this day forward to stand up and stake claim to my future of being indispensable all thanks to the amazing writings of Seth Godin in Linchpin.

With a unique combination of storytelling and fact delivering, Godin elicits the messages that were whispering in my mind, but were afraid to come out. Describing that inside each and every one of us lies a genius in our own right, Godin creates a compelling argument toward greatness and becoming that person we all wish we were; that voice that is whispering wanting to come out; that Linchpin.

Godin turns traditional thinking about career, marketing, and education on its head. The “if I perform at my highest (within corporate culture) I will be rewarded in the long run” mentality is quickly becoming the downfall in our society. There are fewer and fewer great thinkers out there and more cogs in the machine. But Godin believes an artist lies in each of us. This book Linchpin is the awakening of that artist, that genius. He empowers us to speak up in that meeting to make a difference, to voice our concern about a certain strategy, and the tools to deliver on these new found revelations. The difference between you right now and a Linchpin, is the confidence to stand up and the act of delivering.

Overall, Linchpin is an amazing, eye-opening experience that I am going to recommend to everyone from my cousin in college to the CEO of my company. If my entire organization were filled with Linchpins, the world would be our oyster. Thank you Seth Godin for awakening the sleeping giant.