No matter where you are on the career ladder – starting out, consolidating or even retiring and soaking up the sun – the process of networking is vital. But when I say “networking” I don’t mean meeting and greeting and handing out dozens of business cards – these days a great deal of networking and information gathering can take place online (after all it is called “social” media).
The nice thing about this, is that you can get a sense of someone’s skills and experience via LinkedIn, understand their thought process and expertise by reading their blog and even see what they look like and how they “handle themselves” socially via Twitter.
And then, after you have done your “due diligence” and have determined that your online interactions warrant a face-to-face meeting, you can arrange to meet. Where? It really depends on where you live. But in my Networking 101 article over at the MYOB website you can read up on some suggestions for where to go, tools to use and why you should care.
This week there seems to be plenty of talk about disruption … about what it means and what the implications are. And while this feels true, disruption has always been the natural state in the creative industries (including advertising). It’s just that the waves of disruption now overlap and seem to hit us from all directions. Some of these articles may help you navigate this chaotic world.
Stories can have a powerful transformative effect on people and on brands – but many still fail to see the link with social media. Meghan Biro explains why brand humanization is not a social media fad.
It used to be easy to measure things when the only way to access the web was via a browser (let’s face it, WAP was a dud). But these days our experience is fragmented across a variety of branded and non-branded elements and varies according to the way in which we CONSUME that experience – TVCs, radio, print, website, app, social network etc. Is it any wonder we need help influencing the customer journey?
On a similar topic, Michael Brito steps us through some of the steps required to shift from traditional approaches to become more of a social business.
Edward Boches suggests that CMOs (and the rest of us) have to become a whole lot more tech savvy. With digital audiences and audience-focused platforms continuing to grow, the digital havoc will continue.
Each week, as I click links, follow trails and read through my ever burgeoning list of RSS feed, I leave tabs open in my browser. That often means that I will have 60-70 tabs open at one time – which also means that my browser is slow to load each morning. In an ideal world I read, cull and move on – with only the best tabs left still open at the end of the week. It is from this list that I draw my five must-read posts. Here are a few that I just can’t seem to close:
In my mind there is no doubt that Search and all its variants is under pressure. We are slowly but surely coming back to our trusted networks to source knowledge, resolve issues and decide on the things that we buy. And because if this changing behaviour, it’s I also believe the interest graph is the future of social commerce
And on that subject, as “the social customer” becomes clearer in our marketing lenses, it will no doubt require new ways of organising our businesses. Michael Brito shares this presentation on the shift to social business
We’re not just seeing a massive behavioural shift in the marketplace – we are also seeing a significant demographic shift. Augie Ray reminds us that the Gen Y tidal wave is on the horizon – and will bring with it even more discontinuous change. Time to dust off the longboard
How do you build your blog into one of the leading sites for your industry? Valeria Maltoni shares some of the secrets that have made her Conversation Agent site so successful
Remember when you weren’t so good at your chosen profession? Sometimes you need to work through some skills and build your capabilities before you can truly deliver for your employer, clients or customers. Sean Howard reminds us that you will suck, deal with it.
I just got back from a fantastic couple of days at Terrapin’s Internet Show conference. It confirmed for me how powerful in-person events can be – papering over the cracks of our fragmented online connections, interactions and identities. More than once I was introduced to a person who had previously seemed more real in 140 characters than the flesh and blood person standing in front of me. And more than once did I laugh and revel in the light of a witty observation or wry comment.
There was also plenty of great food for thought. Rob Campbell was challenging and thought provoking. Douglas Nicol wowed us with data, mapping and analysis. Tiphereth Gloria showed how frameworks can help make sense of your digital strategy. And some great panel discussions brought the crowd into the conversation.
I’ve even uploaded a selection of the photos I took during the sessions. More can be found on instagram. And you can also check out my presentation – on the business of being social on Slideshare (and embedded below).
On the last Friday of every month, Vibewire in partnership with the Powerhouse Museum, hosts #fastBREAK – a breakfast event featuring young innovators and creatives. This is not just a chance for people to “pitch” to the assembled audience of curious business people, artists and entrepreneurs – it goes a step deeper – challenging the speakers to share something deeper – to share a sense of purpose.
Last Friday, with the umbrella theme of “Rage”, five speakers again assembled to engage and entertain the audience. On the bill was well-known comedian and performer, Dan Ilic. Through storytelling, anecdotes and a spot of culture jamming, he showed just how young innovators are challenging the norms, the political narratives of our times and moving from “rage to action”.
The next #fastBREAK will be held slightly out of sequence – on May 18. It is part of the Sydney Writers Festival and promises to be literary, challenging and more than entertaining. It’s like a breakfast that’s good for you …
And don’t forget – the event is sponsored by the pastry gurus from Black Star Pastry in Newtown. It’s the best $10 you’ve ever spent in Sydney! Be sure to book early!
Over the last week or so I thought I would try a little experiment … after all, social media and its immediacy allows us to test and learn simply and easily, right?
I wanted to test whether different phrasings would impact click through rates from social media sites to destination addresses.
Now, usually I either share a link without introduction, or explain that I was “reading” an article with its link.
Now we know that 90% of people visiting your website will just “read” or “lurk”, that 9% will modify, comment or add to your content and that only 1% will drive activity. The 90-9-1 Principle is what Jakob Nielsen calls Participation Inequality.
So, in effect, announcing that I was “reading” an article planted me firmly in the world of the “lurker”.
But the concept of social proof – whereby one’s actions shapes the actions of those around us – suggests that my “reading” of an article would open the door to others who were also of the “lurking mindset”. So what happens if we re-shape that interaction? What if I was “commenting on” rather than simply “reading”? What if I was “pre-ordering”? How are these “social actions” playing out and are they a different order of magnitude?
Based on the analytics coming out of su.pr it seems that there is an impact – and it is in the 20%-25% range. Taking out the spikes for particularly hot topics I normally average about 150-180 clicks per link. But using the “commenting on” prefix I am regularly hitting higher levels of between 200-230 clicks. Over the coming days I will try variations on this theme:
Tweeting at different times of day
Re-tweeting the same link at different times
Using different social actions
The cool thing is, that a little attention to your choice of language and the framing of an outcome can have a positive impact. And I have a feeling that it may well have an impact on the types of audiences (participants rather than lurkers) that you are reaching. Now, THAT would be brilliant.
I often think we misunderstand the moment in which we are living. Sure technologies are transforming the way that we work. Sure these fancy mobile devices are making us more connected and connectable. And yes, all this data is allowing us to find, engage and even predictively sell to our customers.
But where are YOU in this moment? What is happening in your present moment – there between breaths and tweets?
When you work for a brand or an agency, you often spend a great deal of your creative energy on “cutting through” the noise of our everyday lives. It’s as if it is possible to excise your experience of life as a professional from everything else. But what if you were able to dissolve that distinction – and what if you were to open the imaginative floodgates between your different lives?
My view is that it is inevitable – and that it is happening whether you like it or not. It’s what I call The Social Way. But rather than being something to be feared, it’s something to be embraced.
To succeed in The Social Way we need to rethink a few things. Like customer relationships. And what it means to be innovative or creative. And we need to think about respect.
But don’t take my word for it – listen to Dan Wieden – founder of creative powerhouse Wieden + Kennedy. As he says, we need to rethink the way we use communications systems – after all, you’re not the president. Respect and storytelling – they go hand in hand. They both start by listening.
I was pretty excited during the last week to read the great insight and ideas that are appearing again. It is nice to see some deeper levels of consideration and analysis appearing in articles across the web – rather than the more simplistic commentary that clogs up our brains and bandwidth. I hope you enjoy these stimulating posts!
We tend to trust what people tell us. Whether they are people from agencies, consultants that we are working with or friends, colleagues – or even competitors. But just because someone says something, doesn’t make it true. In the world of digital and social there’s a lot of bad advice floating around. Craig Wilson asks, what’s the price of bad advice?
Often we think about the behaviour of people – our customers, our employees and so on. But we often overlook the larger, connected behaviours of groups. Mark Earls suggests that we are missing the point and that we need to think about behaviour beyond the individual. Awesome.
And on the subject of “awesome” – this. Read it and weep in agreement. Understand it and know that the path ahead in your career is full of challenge. And then proudly go forth preaching the gospel according to Olivier Blanchard.
When it comes to managing a social media crisis you need to keep a level head. And one person who knows how to keep their head when many others are losing their is Matthew Gain. Here are his five best ways to respond to a social media attack.
It’s great to see creative industries ramping up on Newcastle, NSW. Gordon Whitehead shares the news that a new screen industry group has been started up and they’re looking for script ideas. Pull that dusty script out of the drawer and get about the Film Republic.
One of the benefits of the rise of digital marketing has been the abundance of analytics. No longer do we need to rely on what people “say” they are going to do or “would do” in a certain brand scenario. With the right tools in place we can actually observe their real time behaviour. We can see how customers arrive into our sales/business process, where they spend their time and where they reach a decision point – to convert or not.
We can even go further. With a mobile and/or social layer integrated into our digital business process, we can remove barriers, accelerate the movement from one part of the sales process to the next and close the loop on the customer feedback and advocacy. Perhaps most importantly, however, the real innovation is happening in the way that the marketing funnel has been inverted. These days, it’s not about creating awareness and outreach but about creating a centre of gravity that draws your customers to your business.
But many businesses fail to grasp the opportunity. Especially in retail.
This neat infographic from the Marketo folks provides a handy snapshot for marketers, explaining how traditional and “inbound” marketing differs. And once you see the opportunity, check out the Sticky 360 degree approach. It may just be the solution you need to your inbound marketing challenges.
Often when I speak with other marketers, they complain that their brand, products or services are just not “sexy enough”. They are interested in social media and in producing content but simply cannot find the angle to make their brand shine. But this is not a problem of social media. And it’s not a problem of branding. It’s a problem of storytelling. And the only way to attack that problem is not with demographics and data (as much as I love them both). It’s with imagination.
Take a look at this “best job” video connecting a bunch of brands from the P&G stable. Not only is it interesting to see P&G stepping out from the long shadow of their powerful brands – it’s fascinating to see how “adjacent storytelling” can really showcase beauty and triumph in the mundane existence of our everyday lives.
So, what is “adjacent storytelling”? To me, it’s secret sauce.
How many times have you been asked to make the “logo bigger” or “more prominent”? How many times have you been pushed to mention a product or brand name three or more times in 30 seconds? This infantile understanding of branding comes from the triumph of data over imagination.
Adjacent storytelling is not about naming your brand. The adjacent story is there – the one that you see out of the corner of your eye. It’s the story that stays with you long after you have forgotten the wording. It’s the feeling that reminds you that your experience is not singular and that we are connected more by our commonalities than by our differences.
The adjacent story is the story of your brand in the hands and lives of your customers. Someone, somewhere, once had a problem that needed to be solved. This too, is the adjacent story. It’s the story of the problem, not the story of the solution.
Every brand – every product or service – has this story buried within. You need to scratch the surface to find the beating heart of your brand. But don’t stop there. It’s time to go deeper. Let’s hear less about you. Let’s hear how, together, we can change lives of those around us. Of those most important to us. Let’s explore how we can change this world.
That’s the adjacent story. And here you were thinking this was a blog post on social media!