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On February 23rd, I attended a great social media networking event hosted by Ben Smith and Social: IRL. The Taste, Tweet, Meet With Boulevard Brewing Company event was exceptional.
But, it wasn't for the usual reasons that I found this event so enjoyable (i.e., the personal camaraderie of social networking connections in Kansas City, the privilege of personally meeting these wonderful people sometimes for the first time, etc.).
Discuss how she's continuously informing Boulevard's customers / fans about this ongoing process
She openly fielded numerous questions. Plus, she patiently spoke with individual attendees about specific questions after concluding her presentation. I was one of those folks (more on that later).
Julie openly sharing this presentation and Boulevard's ongoing efforts in addressing the Chocolate Ale product recall demonstrates:
Leadership Lesson #2: If You're Going To Say You're Sorry, Mean It
Don't Cram Rehearsed Corporate Management-Speak / Public Relations-Speak Down Our Throats. Julie's presentation included the following YouTube video with John McDonald, Founder and President of Boulevard Brewing Company, and Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's Head Brewmaster:
Why This Apology Is Genuine. Why It Is Human. I asked Julie whose idea was it to produce and publish this video on the Internet. She said it was hers. And, she convinced Boulevard's top two leaders of immediately and publicly addressing this communications crisis.
"Speak From Your Hearts." The reason why this video resonates with me and Boulevard's many fans is because it's genuine. Julie told me McDonald and Pauwels did this video without a script.
Her only instruction: "I need you guys to speak from your hearts."
If Boulevard's fans and consumers don't consider this video a genuine and heartfelt apology (and it comes from the firm's highest leadership), I don't know what is.
Every Fortune 500 CEO in America could learn from McDonald's and Pauwels' plain-spoken example to inform its consumers of bad news (and the subsequent actions to make things right).
Pride In Your Organization. Pride in Your Products. Pride in Your Community. Boulevard Brewing Company is a Kansas City Community Crown Jewel. And, I'm proud to not only be a HUGE FAN of their beers I'm but also a HUGE FAN of Julie Weeks and Boulevard's leadership because of their actions.
Around time stamp :25 of the YouTube Chocolate Ale Announcement, John McDonald states: "We're a proud brewery and we want to do the right thing ..."
A Vital Kansas City Civic Principle. Boulevard Brewing Company embodies a vital Kansas City civic principle: Kansas City is a proud community built and driven by the resourceful and creative entrepreneurial spirit of people like the John McDonalds, the Henry Blochs, the Ewing Kauffmans, and the J.C. Halls:
And, that entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive because of the leadership of people like John McDonald, Steven Pauwels, and Julie Weeks.
Hang In There Julie! As I conclude this post, I know Julie Weeks is working today, tomorrow, and how ever long it will take to address the Chocolate Ale situation. She takes TREMENDOUS PRIDE in doing everything she humanly can to positively represent Boulevard as its online ambassador.
Julie, as you're working today and if you see / read / monitor anything remotely negative about Boulevard Brewing Company, please remember these four (4) things:
Your social media friends and colleagues are rooting for you
You're doing a fantastic job as Boulevard's Online Ambassador!
I remember Tom's insight 2+years ago during a small breakfast meeting at La Peeps Restaurant in Overland Park, KS. Our discussion centered around the burgeoning cottage industry of books and seminars touted by self-proclaimed social media experts, gurus, ninjas, and evangelists.
More importantly, his statement summarized both the opportunity and barrier to entry for people pursuing social media as a profession or as a credible vehicle for personal reinventions beyond a current job description.
I remember asking if he copyrighted this wisdom. He said no. But, he smiled and said if I ever use his quote, I should assign him credit and attribution (which I hope I did here).
Because I knew I'd reference his statement in a blog post someday. That day arrived.
First, This IS NOT a Bash-the-Author Piece. It's quite the opposite. Please read the entire Forbes article because Cari Sommer (the author) offers valid advice on building one's online credibility, reputation, and visibility the right way.
Second, This Post Describes Why Cari Sommer Is a Great Example of Personal and Professional Reinvention. Cari Sommer transformed her professional career and trajectory by reinventing herself into a bona fide communications expert and entrepreneur. A major portion of this post explains why I believe she's a credible and successful expert in her field.
Check out these Google results on these infamous keyword phrases:
"Social Media Guru" = 2,160,000 results
"Social Media Evangelist" = 1,090,000 results
"Social Media Expert" = 1,060,000 results
"Social Media Ninja" = 281,000 results
Based on this quick analysis, I wonder if:
There really are that many people who can credibly make those self-proclamations?
"Ninjas" have a better long-tail chance of being found via search than "Gurus"?
"Evangelists" and "Experts" are interchangeable titles (give or take wading through 30,000 results)?
Expertise Is Earned, Not Self-Proclaimed
Ms. Sommer's Provides and Shares Credible, First-Hand Expertise Earned From Her Personal Experiences. I buy-in to Ms. Sommer's generously shared advice on building a solid online reputation and positioning oneself as a social media expert (or an industry expert). It's credible and emphasizes a learn-by-doing attitude:
Self-publishing content on social media channels (i.e., a blog, LinkedIn industry groups, etc.)
Attending and speaking at industry conferences
Identifying and building relationships with industry bloggers and journalists
Pitching one's expertise to the industry influencers
But, The 3.5 Million Self-Proclaimers Haven't Practiced or Applied Any of Ms. Sommer's Advice The sad fact is so few have consistently performed (or even attempted) any of her recommendations over the long haul. Why? Because, the advice she imparts requires major time investments in:
Focus
Practice
Patience
Experimentation
Creativity
Hustle
Hard Work (aka Malcom Gladwell's Rule of 10,000 Hours)
Commitment
Want to Be Really Good at Something? Invest 10,000 Hours.
Malcolm Gladwell on 10,000 Hours.Here's Malcolm Gladwell in a CNN interview describing the significance of the 10,000 Hours Rule (timestamp 2:30 to 4:00):
Ms. Sommer Earned Her Expertise -- She Didn't Just Proclaim It. An influential, global media organization like Forbes didn't just hand her an outstanding personal branding opportunity because she proclaimed her industry expertise.
Unlike the aforementioned millions of great pretenders, she:
Earned this gig by executing her own advice
Earned her position as a communications expert through professional experience
Earned her expertise by being relentless (e.g., she wasn't afraid to fail)
See these excerpts from her Forbes Contributor bio and her communications consultancy homepage. She made it happen. She didn't just proclaim expertise.
A Case Study in Personal and Professional Reinvention
Ms. Sommer Reinvented and Transformed Herself Into a Communications and Public Relations Expert. Look further down her Forbes Contributor biography. She professionally reinvented herself from being a former litigator at an international law firm to becoming an entrepreneur and CEO of her own communications consultancy:
Where's The Cari Sommer's Substance? You can study it first-hand in this CBS News.com video.
Conclusion
I wish more people like Cari Sommers had the substance and experience to back up the "I'm An Expert" claim. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be so cynical.
I look forward to her future contributor articles in Forbes and other media sites. Until then, I've started following her on Twitter because I want to continue learning from a bona fide expert.
(Direct Quote from the Fortune Article): "Here's the scary part: Roehm rarely misses a chance to talk about how delighted she is with online advertising. Last year she spent 10% of the budget online; this year she is allotting closer to 18%; next year, she says, she will allocate more than 20%. Do the math: In 2006 roughly $400 million of Chrysler's money that used to go into TV, newspaper, and magazine ads will be spent on the Internet. Says Roehm: 'I hate to sound like such a marketing geek, but we like to fish where the fish are.'"
A 34 Year-Old Marketing Executive Publicly Declares a $400 Million Bet on Digital Marketing ROI. Wow! Here's a gutsy, young, rising, marketing executive superstar who's publicly stating her $360 million and $400 million bets to achieve digital marketing ROI in the next two years! Not only did this quantitatively trained University of Chicago MBA convince a highly conservative executive management team to think and invest differently but she also commanded their $2 billion global marketing budget.
Fast Forward to After a Highly Publicized Departure at Walmart in December 2006. After numerous high profile promotions and industry accolades, Ms. Roehm abruptly found herself at a personal and professional crossroads. Starting in 2007, her short tenure as a Senior VP of Marketing at Walmart was her last full-time, executive marketing position for the next five years.
She wanted back in the C-suite. But, as articulated by Fast Company, Corporate America wasn't willing to take on "damaged goods."
How Did Julie Roehm Recover and Reinvent Her Personal Brand?
The Governing Question. And, here's how I will attempt to answer it:
Examine how Ms. Roehm leveraged social media technologies to reinvent her personal brand
Offer my opinion on her multi-channel social media strategy and individual channel tactics
Conclude why I think her move to SAP fits from a social media perspective
What This Post WILL NOT Attempt. A lot of content exists online about Ms. Roehm's departure from Walmart. I couldn't avoid it while conducting the research for this post.
Therefore,
I will not rehash any of that online content and provide my personal opinions on it
I will not pass any personal judgment on Ms. Roehm in relation to that online content
If you're looking for a sensationalistic piece, please click to a different website / blog. Because, you're wasting valuable time by staying here.
If you're interested in answering the previously stated governing question, I hope you'll please stick with me for just a little while longer ...
1. Roehm Crafted a Personal Social Media Strategy First
A Home Base Personally Branding Julie Roehm.juliearoehm.com is her personal website where she controls every positioning aspect of her personal brand:
Brand Persona Attributes: C-Suite Executive, Marketing Expert, Smart, a Likable Personality
Targeted Buyer Persona: C-Suite Executives in Marketing, Branding, and Public Relations
Target Industry Expertise: Retail, Financial Services, Automotive, New Media
Online Assets Focusing on a Cohesive Brand Message. And, she showcases these personal brand attributes by delivering and linking a cohesive and consistent marketing message among each of these online, personal branding assets:
Her Personal Blog: "I'm an authority who publishes insights on marketing strategy."
Videos (especially from Fox Business News): "A major news network has me regularly comment because I'm a marketing strategy authority."
The Julie Roehm Twitter Feed: "I read, study, and share interesting content on marketing strategy."
LinkedIn Profile: "I've held several marketing strategy authority positions or consulted for large organizations as a marketing strategy authority."
A Multi-Channel Hub and Spoke Model with Both Long-Form and Short-Form Context. The multiple channel strategy executed here is worth highlighting in this age of real-time streams via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+:
1. The Marketing Pull. Her website, blog, and videos contain the long-form context demonstrating her expertise to the target audience. These online properties give her the runway to provide more details and examples of why she's a bonafide marketing authority in her target industries.
2. The Marketing Push. Her LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter contain the short-form context to share content she's provided on her "pull assets" (i.e., a recently published blog post or tweeting an article link relevant to a specific industry or area of marketing expertise).
2. Roehm Leveraged Online Video to Her Advantage
The Julie Roehm Personal Branding Killer App. Ms. Roehm leverages online video brilliantly. These videos demonstrate her personal strengths as well as different views of her personality:
Articulate and Smart
Subject Matter Expert
Thinks Quickly on Her Feet
Confidence: e.g, she knows this stuff cold
Humor: e.g., she pokes fun at herself and doesn't take herself too seriously
Plus, notice how each video positions her as one of the following:
Julie Roehm, Consumer Analyst and Marketing Expert
Julie Roehm, Marketing Strategy Consultant
Julie Roehm, Marketing Expert
* Example: Leveraging Online Media in Branding Strategy
Note: I provided the Fox Business News videos this way because (1) Fox doesn't allow the use of video embedding in external sites and (2) The URL in one of the videos produces funky-looking "duplicates" on my published blog post. Sorry for the inconvenience.
3. Roehm and Her SAP Senior Marketing Executive Colleagues Share a Common Ground: Think Like a Publisher
Both Her New Boss and a Senior Marketing Executive Colleague Self-Publish a Blog and Use Twitter. Ms. Roehm, her new boss, and one of her senior marketing executive colleagues agree on an important aspect of a global brand's marketing strategy: self-publishers win in social media.
How can I make that type of a statement? Her SAP senior marketing executive colleagues also actively self-publish online content:
And, during the interviewing process, I'm sure Ms. Roehm showed this online content portfolio to her SAP colleagues to make the case for her knowledge, expertise, and creativity in executing a successful social media strategy.
Thinking Like a Publisher Means Creating "Show-Me" Content. Ms. Roehm started actively blogging in March 2009 and opened her Twitter account in May 2007. That's given her significant time to create, publish and build a sizable online content portfolio. To her credit, she aggressively self-published content for the past five years to position herself for senior marketing executive positions.
"She now ranks cultural fit -- geographic and corporate -- at the top of her list, adding that her 'aggressive-aggressive' personality, as she describes it, doesn't jibe with the 'passive-aggressive' politeness of the South. 'I wanted to be able to show that I can adapt anywhere, I can do anything. The thing I learned about myself is that I'm not a full-on chameleon, and there's nothing wrong with that."
I have no knowledge of SAP's corporate culture. But, I do know these three (3) things after analyzing her personal social media strategy:
1. Julie Roehm maximized her online personal branding opportunities.
2. She strategically self-published content that's tactically distributed via multiple social media channels.
3. Her content delivered and reinforced a consistent brand message highlighting her marketing strategy capabilities and expertise.
Did her online activities alone win her this new professional opportunity? Of course not.
But, her online content strategy significantly contributed to winning her new senior executive postion at SAP. I look forward to tracking Ms. Roehm's progress because she's always been someone to watch.
I loved reading the January 1, 2012 New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller: Google Bases a Campaign on Emotions, Not Terms. Her article explains Google's distinctive philosophical change towards marketing and advertising. For Google to acknowledge investing more time and resources to actively promote its products and services stands in stark contrast to the image of "cold engineers" hating anything related to marketing, advertising, or public relations as described in Ken Auletta's great book, Googled.
Why Google Reinvented Its Marketing
"A Remarkable Transformation." What's driving this "remarkable transformation for Google" as noted in the article by Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix, a firm that evaluates TV and video ads?
Ms. Cain Miller's article cites two business drivers:
Finding New Revnue Sources Beyond Search Ads. Google needs new businesses like the Chrome browser and the Google Plus social network to succeed.
Focusing, Paring Down, and Integrating Google's Offerings. This is part of Larry Page's mission as CEO to pare down Google's product offering and make these products more attractive, intuitive, and integrated with one another.
Does This Sound Like The Voice of a Cold Engineer?
"As we got bigger, we had more competition, more products, more messages to consumers, so we needed to do a bit more to communicate what thse products are and how you can use them."
"If we don't make you cry, we fail. It's about emotion, which is bizarre for a tech company."
Sounds Like Marketing From the Heart. But, make no mistake Google still bases its decisions on rigorous, fact-based data analysis. And, the article further describes the significant data analyses and testing that went into planning its first Super Bowl commercial (e.g., dozens of tests) and a 140-tab spreadsheet used in location planning for Google Zeitgeist (the company's annual conference for it's biggest advertisers).
Don't Pitch. Tell a Story.
The Google Video Advertisements Cited in the New York Times Article. The article mentions the following successful advertising videos because Google uses storytelling versus product pitching. I've pulled them all together in this post.
It's Not About Features and Benefits. Notice how we can all relate to each of these stories. In particular, the two (2) Google Chrome videos mention nothing about Chrome as the world's fastest web browser.
These stories are moving, emotional, and entertaining. What's their emotional impact on you?
2011 was an important year for this blog. A few months ago, I published my 100th post. And, each post represents an opportunity to learn, improve, and experiment.
Social Media ReInvention Blog's Most Popular 2011 Posts
And, She Weighed in at a Happy and Healthy 6 Pounds, 9 Ounces. From mid-August to early November 2012, I literally dropped out of sight from any new blog posts or social media participation (you may or may not have noticed). The birth of my daughter is the reason why. My wife and I also have another daughter who's seven (7) years old.
Our family grew. And, we are so blessed.
But, Little Blessings Can Be Mentally and Emotionally Consuming. Fatherhood with a newborn is both humbling and rewarding. You learn quickly how sleep deprivation makes it difficult to construct a coherent thought or sentence.
It took four (4) months / early November to start feeling normal, productive, and effective.
The Epiphany: Blogging Really Makes Me Happy
A Newborn Quickly Imposes Prioritization (Whether You Like It or Not). During that four-month time frame, I realized I couldn't maintain my past routines in working on this blog. And, that frustrated me a lot.
I Missed the Process. I felt something missing. And, I had to keep reminding myself this sacrifice and setback is temporary.
I missed everything about the writing and blogging process:
It's a great way to practice writing (which is important in my full-time work)
It's introduced me to interesting, smart, like-minded people
It's not to make money (because I make no revenue from blogging)
It makes me happy
Yes, It Makes Me Happy. And, I hope the time you spend reading my blog makes you happy (or makes youfeel like it's time well-spent). With each new post, I hope you feel the content is improving.
And, I hope you'll continue sharing the content with others. When something I write is shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, I'm always surprised (and humbled).
Thank You. Thank you indulging me in sharing a memorable year. Thank you for subscribing to this blog and sharing its content with your social network connections. And, thank you for sticking with me when I temporarily dropped out of sight.
Here's to a safe, healthy, and happy 2012 for all of us.
Bottom Line: I highly recommend studying Newsjacking. It's informative, quick-to-read, and filled with insightful how-to-examples. In fact, both books are required reading for any marketing/PR executive, business owner, or brand manager who wants to capitalize on media opportunities generated by the real-time Web.
And, We All Can Do It! David defines "newsjacking" as publishing your personal angle, ideas, or perspective into a breaking news story / event to earn media coverage for your company, brand, or products / services.
Help Journalists Write Their Second Paragraphs. When hot news strikes, journalists scour the Internet via search engines (i.e., Google) and social media (i.e., Twitter, blogs, etc.). Why? They're seeking additional content (e.g., details, opinions, etc.) that can differentiate the point-of-view in their individual news stories.
That differentiating point-of-view or compelling content is the "second paragraph." Journalists seek second paragraph material that:
Delivers credible, authoritative, and valuable information / perspective
Describes "why" something happened
Interprets the event's impact and future implications
Credible Second Paragraphs Can Earn Massive Media Attention. Be fast, use targeted keywords, and provide valuable context in your Tweets and blog posts so journalists can find your contribution to a story with Google searches. Quickly writing an informative blog post and shrewdly publicizing it with Twitter may take an hour or less.
And, the impact can be huge:
"With a single hour's work many people manage to generate more media attention than a whole year's return on a substantial PR budget."
"I've been a marketer for two decades now, and I have never seen a technique as powerful as newsjacking."
2. Newsjacking Favors Faster, Smaller Players
Real-Time Speed is a Newsjacker's Bread and Butter. Speed, decisiveness, and execution drive successful newsjacking. And, you must respond within the hour of a breaking news story. That's why fast movers are great newsjackers.
David Can Trump Goliath. Plus, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors. The Fortune 500 has the same opportunity to successfully newsjack as any other organization or individual. But, their corporate hierarchies and approval processes are handicaps.
Therefore, smaller firms can outplay their larger competitors:
"What's abundantly true is that newsjacking is easier for nimbler players than its is for the lumbering giants of the corporate world."
"To successfully newsjack or fend off a newsjack, you can't wait for approval. You just have to do it."
Newsjacking Lives and Dies by Speed. The graphic below describes the newsjacking process. Notice how speed drives the entire newsjacking process:
Tracking and staying on top of breaking news
Deciding quickly on your response
Publishing / Publicizing the response instantly
3. Chapter 6 - Ka-Ching: CEO Bags a Cool Million with a Single Blog Post
A Classic, Must-Read Newsjacking Blog Post. Joe Payne is the CEO of Eloqua, a company specializing in marketing-automation. When he learned and verified Oracle entered his industry space, he quickly wrote this blog post: Oracle Joins The Party.
There are multiple reasons why this blog post and the surroundingcircumstances make it a classic, newsjacking case study:
The post provides a valuable and quotable industry perspective
Payne crafted and posted this blog post quickly
The blog post contains verifiable details and statistics
He outflanked a larger competitor (e.g., Oracle) using new media tools
Payne's Blog Post Earned Major Media Attention, Credibility, and $1 Million. When industry analysts and journalists searched Google for news about Oracle, they found Payne's content-rich blog post. And, they quoted it verbatim.
In the following examples, I attached the hyperlink to the actual media coverage if the page still exists:
Business Week - Eloqua Guarantees Success for Market2Lead Clients Affected by Oracle
The aforementioned media coverage (and other coverage) increased Eloqua's credibility. In addition, Payne and his team combined the blog post's media coverage with immediate, next-morning business development follow-up. These combined activities brought Eloqua software deals worth $1 million in new revenue among six (6) new clients.
That's a great outcome especially without the luxury of a multiple phase PR campaign or massive advertising budget.
4. Chapter 7: Become the Go-To Gal (or Guy) in Your Industry
Blogs Are Powerful Newsjacking Assets. Long form content achieves four (4) things:
Provides keyword rich content for search engines to index
Increases the probability journalists will find your blog post when searching Google
Delivers context rich details (hard to do in Twitter and Facebook)
Positions newsjackers as reputable and credible reputable industry authorities
Here's a direct quote from David: "If a blog develops a reputation for serving up informed, insightful, authoritative, articulate, quotable and timely commentary on issues in your industry, journalists will learn to seek you out when issues arise."
Knowing Your Issues / Topics Cold Leads to Long Term Credibility. Newsjack the issues and topics in which you are well-informed. That knowledge will make your newsjacking perspective valuable, credible, and authoritative.
Long term credibility is vital in building an authoritative reputation and relationships with journalists. Even more importantly, that credibility and reputation dictates why journalists may or may not seek your input in future news stories.
Why Amdocs and Jeff Barak Are Telecommunications Billing and Customer Care Industry Authorities. In Chapter 7, David describes how Amdocs and Jeff Barak used their company blog to comment on regulatory changes in their industry. Barak wrote this blog post, No Need to Be Bill Shocked, while the FCC conducted meetings in late 2010 to discuss legislation about bill shock.
Journalists searched Google for the latest news about this FCC legislation and found Barak's blog post. His post earned coverage from industry publications (like this one from Penton Media's Connected Planet blog post -- Not Being Shocked by Bill Shock).
5. Learn from Newsjacking Mistakes: The Golden Rules
The Golden Rule Objective (Direct Quote)."When intervening in a news story you should add value - information or insight that contributes to the public's understanding of the situation."
The Four (4) Golden Rules. Kenneth Cole didn't have the benefit of David's advice before sending out that tweet. We now have that luxury:
* Be dignified and statesmanlike. See the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Be positive and upbeat, never mean or vindictive. Again, see the Joe Payne / Eloqua Case Study Above (#3)
* Write articulate text in full sentences without chatty slang, industry jargon, corporate-speak (i.e., mission-critical or cutting-edge) or social media shorthand (e.g., IMHO)
* Don't get too cute or clever -- especially where human suffering is involved. See aforementioned Kenneth Cole tweet
6. Newsjackers Monitor News 24/7 Via RSS Feeds
RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feeds Are a Newsjacker's BFF. David describes how setting up RSS feeds to your favorite news sources, analysts, industry publications, and blogs enables real-time news monitoring. And, staying abreast of leading news events gives you the competitive advantage to respond fast. David mentions these RSS services in his book:
Google Reader
Newsfire
Fast Responders Earn Attention. Here's a how-to video I made two years ago on using RSS (e.g., your iGoogle Home Pages) to monitor postings of your favorite blogs to increase your chances of being an early commenter on new posts. Why? Early commenters earn the author's attention (especially if you're the first commenter).
The same principle applies when monitoring news sources in real-time and responding quickly to capitalize on a newsjacking opportunity:
7. Learn How to Maximize Twitter's Real-Time Capabilities
A Newsjacker' Must-Have Weapon For Monitoring News Flow. Twitter's real-time capabilities make it the ultimate rapid response, news monitoring tool. You can find great second paragraph content and breaking news stories by:
Catching key phrases by creating columns in Tweetdeck and HootSuite
Using Twitter's search function
Setting up a "news" column in Tweetdeck or HootSuite (i.e., a dedicated news column focusing on all the news sources you follow)
A Powerful Fast Response Distribution Channel. When it comes to publicizing and "pushing out" newsjacking blog posts quickly, Twitter rules. Remember, journalists search Twitter to find differentiating second paragraph content.
Use Twitter Hashtags (#). Therfore, include hashtags (the pound key - #) in your tweets to mark them with the unique identifier about a particular subject (i.e., #Cairo). Remember, the hashtag, makes it easier for journalists to instantly locate in Twitter all references to a particular topic. Plus, tweets with hashtags are curated in reverse chronological order (i.e., most recent first).
Twitter Can Help You Directly Contact a Journalist. Most journalists provide or publish their Twitter ID (i.e.@firstnamelastname). Verify their Twitter ID with a quick Google search. Then, include his/her Twitter ID in your tweet so you can directly point him/her to your blog post.
I studied Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel from cover to cover. And, I loved every word. My one regret: I didn’t start reading / studying it sooner.
An Important and Valuable Book. Don’t make my mistake. Six Pixels of Separation belongs in the digital marketing and leadership library of any Fortune 500 executive, small business owner, or entrepreneur who is driven to forge an organization on the principles of trust and community.
This review focuses on seven (7) pearls of wisdom from the book. But, there are so many more.
I hope this review inspires you to:
Purchase the book and study it
Share it with your family, friends, and colleagues
A 3-Pronged Approach: Building, Differentiating, and Auditing Your Personal Brand. Chapter 7: You Are Media (pages 124 – 142) is the most important chapter of the book. It focuses on how individuals can create, promote, and differentiate their personal brands by publishing digital content.
Mitch provides detailed guidance on these key branding activities:
Build a 3D Personal Brand (pages 134 – 135)
Differentiate Your Personal Brand Via a 15-Point Personal Brand Questionnaire (page 129)
Audit Your Personal Brand in the Online World (pages 139 – 141)
In the following video (timestamp 1:53 to 3:10; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning), Mitch describes how organizational brands or individual brands can market themselves in online channels by:
Participating in online conversations
Providing valuable content
Helping other people connect and engage with others
You Are a Broadcast Network. Page 137 states why we are all individual media companies:
“Individuals are creating content; the individuals are the media. The media they are creating are also a form of advertising.”
“It made me wonder: why would Robert Scoble accept a “friends invitation” from people he does not know? Why do you want to be connected to people you don’t know and alert them to stuff you’re doing? And then it hit me! Robert Scoble is media. He’s building his own broadcast network. He understands that media is completely fragmented and, by participating in all these new social communication vehicles (blogging, Twitter, Pownce, Facebook), he’s aggregating readers and viewers, thereby increasing his penetration and his worth as media.”
2. We Are All Intrinsically Connected
Six Degrees of Separation Applies to Traditional Media. On page 4, Mitch explains that today's technology and digital channels enable people to know everyone because:
“We are all intrinsically connected through technology, the Internet, and our mobile devices.”
“We are all a click (or pixel) away from one another.”
“This means that building relationships and turning those relationships into an online community is more important than ever before.”
He describes the Six Pixels of Separation Concept in the following video (timestamp: 0:08 to 1:37; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning):
Geographical Boundaries No Longer Apply. Watch the following video. It describes the true story of how the rock band, Journey, found its new lead singer via YouTube. The new lead singer lived in the Philippines (and didn’t speak a word of English). The story starts around 40 seconds into the video:
3. Digital Marketing Is About Being Slow
In Praise of Slow. Pages 31 – 34 contain my favorite Six Pixels quotes. Why? All of the lessons reinforce a long-term approach / attitude in building a credible digital presence. The misconception about digital marketing versus traditional marketing is digital results could be achieved faster and cheaper:
“Yes, you can make fast decisions, see fast results, and optimize and change things on the fly, but real tangible results take time. You can’t quickly start a blog and get results right away. It takes time to build your content, find your voice, develop a community, and earn trust and respect.”
Time Invested Drives New Media Opportunities. On page 5, he describes how the time invested in building online communities and reputations determines success in online channels (not how much money is dumped in advertising and PR):
“The new online channels will work for you as long as your are working for them by adding value, your voice, and the ability for your consumers to connect, engage, and take part.”
Eight (8) Years of Blog Posts and Hundreds of Podcasts. Mitch started publishing the Six Pixels of Separation Blog in 2003. At the time of the book’s 2009 publication, the Twist Image Team published 200+ podcasts.
On pages 184 to 185, Mitch comments on the time and and work invested:
“None of this was easy to accomplish. It was (and is) hard work and very time consuming, but we have achieved great results from these efforts, and it has differentiated us and brought us out of the bloody red sea of interactive agencies and into a blue ocean (even though, on some days, it feels more lie a pond) of what the agency of the future should look like.”
Watch This Interview About In Praise of Slow (time stamp 2:30 to 5:00). Pay special attention to what Mitch says about In Praise of Slow along with his blog’s role in lead generation and client acquisition:
4. Influencers of Content Value: Time, Search Engines, Linking, and Sharing
Content’s Slow, Steady Process and the Link to Search Engines. Page 33 contains an important lesson on how content earns favorable search engine rankings:
“The older the content, the longer it has been online and searchable through the engines, the more people who have linked to it, shared, and tagged it, the more valuable it is. Content that ranks at the top of Google does not get there because of how new and fresh it it is. Content rises to the top of Google based on how long it has been available and how valuable it has been to the online community.”
“It’s a slow and steady process that makes content rise to the top of the search engines.”
Speed Is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tactic. Page 33 discusses why speed is important in online publishing. Key points about speed include:
* Speed gets your content is indexed in search engines as fast as possible.
* The sooner your content is available through search, the sooner people will find it, and the sooner it will become valuable.
* Posting your content fast means you can gain the efficiencies of content’s slow, steady process faster.
5. Attention Does Not Equal Trust
They’re Not the Same. Think about celebrities, politicians, athletes, etc. who garner significant attention. Do you trust them? Probably not. Being the center of attention is not a sustainable long term strategy.
Digital Marketing Is Not a One-Night Stand (page 34). It’s about TRUST. It’s about building real, genuine relationships with both your current consumers and potential consumers.
“There’s no such thing as an overnight sensation. Everything you’ve seen in business as an overnight sensation was, in effect, decades in the making.”
“The digital social spaces are built on trust and trust alone.Trust is always built slowly over time.”
Earning Trust. Pages 167 to 169 discuss earning and sustaining trust once your online participation receives attention. Mitch writes “to use the Web in a human way.”
* Be Helpful. Helping others online is how you turn attention into trust. Remember, the Web is built on reciprocity.
* Be Sincere. Helping others without expecting anything in return is the right attitude. Helpful and sincere people are valuable community members – just like in the real world.
6. Traffic Does Not Equal Community
Be Wary of The Mass Media Complex. Driving more traffic is good. But, the ultimate goal is not solely about achieving large numbers.
In the following video, Mitch discusses the mass media complex (e.g., appealing to everyone or trying to attract millions). Pay attention to his explanation from time stamp 0:40 to 0:57 (especially about how Six Pixels of Separation targets the digital marketing and social media community):
Focus on Building Community. The thought here similarly applies to the one about attention does not equal trust. On page 166, Mitch writes:
“Keep in mind that many people who have lots of traffic really don’t have much community at all. In fact, hunting for the traffic can be a game of diminishing returns. To really evolve and maintain, focus on the five new community members (who will, we hope, become lifetime customers) versus the 55,000 who might float in and right out simply because of an orphan link that someone posted somewhere. Namely, they were interested in your content for about five seconds, but now they are gone.”
“The long-term game of sustainability in the online channels is one of quality versus quantity.”
7. The Golden Rule
Say Thank You. Pages 41 to 42 and 210 to 212, reinforce the importance of (1) monitoring mentions of your product / service AND (2) expressing thanks to the people sharing your content:
If someone mentions you, it is now your duty -- at the very least -- to leave a comment back on their blog (or email them directly), letting them know you are reading, paying attention, and most importantly, appreciative of their mentioning you.
As much as you physically can, respond and be thankful to everyone who takes the time to mention you.
Make this your golden rule, and make a commitment that you will never break it.
It Shows You're Human. Practicing The Golden Rule shows others you're listening, responsive, and appreciative. In all human interactions, isn't that the goal? Make it the norm not the exception in your digital interactions.
And, Mitch Joel is a Man of His Word. These acknowledgements from Mitch show how he practices The Golden Rule:
In addition, this post represents installment number three (3) of a blog series on real-time capabilities and its impact in online media. In case you're interested, the other related posts are:
The data analysis describes our digital news consumption habits particularly by time-of-day. Here are some key insights (particularly pertaining to mobile and tablets).
Mobile Internet and Tablet Consumption Dominated When News Coverage Spiked on Sunday, May 1st
Shifting Viewing Habits? The breakdown by digital device during the Sunday evening, May 1st news cycle peak (e.g., 10 PM ET) is as follows:
Mobile Internet and Tablet Traffic Continues Peaking During Our Morning Commutes
But Computer Consumption Won During Our May 2nd Workday. First, I hope none of these people were driving. Second, notice how the mobile internet activity peaks again from 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM. Third, look how computer news consumption accelerates around the same time (i.e., steepest slope of curve). Fourth, computer consumption primarily takes place from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Conclusion
If the Content is Important, We'll Find a Way to Access It. Mr. Lipsman's analysis provides consumer insights applicable to not only news consumption but also content consumption relevant to marketing and public relations activities:
* We're multiple device consumers. We may not necessarily be seeking a one-device-does-it-all-solution (at least not yet).
* Content loading speed / page loading speed will make or break you with mobile internet devices. Optimizing the content for fast loading and optimization on any type of screen is a competitive differentiator (e.g., hand-held, tablet, etc.). The lack of page loading speed in my plodding, iPhone 3G is already causing me cravings for the rumored iPhone 5.
* Business professionals are more accessible early morning or late evening. Reaching targeted consumers (i.e., business professionals) is optimal during the early AM or late evening (e.g., no work distractions). Unless, you can deliver something earth-shattering to divert their attention.
I checked my laptop's Twitter stream around 10 PM Sunday evening for real-time news feeds. And, that's when Twitter informed me of Osama bin Laden's death in real-time.
Our Consumption and Participating in Real-Time News Drives a Traditional Industry's Transformation. I've reflected on the media activities of the past 48 hours. The picture above symbolizes more than the aftermath of September 11, 2011.
It galvanizes how we are both consumers and participants in the transformation and reinvention of a traditional industry (especially how we interact with news content):
#1: Social Networks are Our Real-Time News Channels
More People Found Out About bin Laden's Death Via Twitter and Facebook.Mashable conducted a poll with 20,000+ respondents. Twitter and Facebook easily outdistanced television. Even broadcast television lacks the real-time impact of online media platforms.
Facebook's News Function Goal-- Become "The People's Newspaper." I mentioned earlier how I consult Twitter for real-time news updates. It's no coincidence that Facebook also recognizes real-time news as a competitive differentiator.
Journalists on Facebook Page.The Journalists on Facebook Page is part of the company's strategy to build relationships with journalists. Notice how several status updates pertain to the bin Laden story:
#2: Mobile Devices are the Accepted Real-Time Publishing Platform (Especially the Smartphone)
Urbahn Broadcasted the Tweet From His Smartphone. I'm not surprised Urbahn broadcasted the news on Twitter. But, notice the news broadcasting platform -- his smartphone. Maybe, I'm old-fashioned in thinking the publication of a major news event requires a computer keyboard and wireless Internet connection.
Looks Like Page 29 of David Meerman Scott's Real-Time & Marketing PR Book. Here's the graph from the TechCruch article. Notice how the spike in Google search queries correlates with the real-time announcement on Twitter and eventually trails off:
#4 The Real-Time Marketing & PR Law of Normal Distribution
Notice how this graph shares several real-time attributes David Meerman Scott describes in his book (my notes are in red text):
Breaking News
Triggers
Excitement
Peak
Old News
Done
#5: The Blurring of Trusted, Traditional News Sources
Non-Traditional "Hard News" Sources Provide Diverse Points-of-View. Each of these organizations or individuals is a trusted news source pertaining to technology and online media. Their points-of-view blended their niches with this traditional "hard news" story:
An Important Historical Artifact. The TechCrunch article further states this image is probably the fastest viewed photo on Flickr. The image achieved its viewer volume in less than 38 hours.
Conclusion
How Did You Learn About the Osama Bin Laden Announcement? Were you on Twitter, Facebook, or another social network? Did you head right to Google News or did you go straight to a traditional news source (i.e., New York Times, BBC, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg, etc.)?
I would love to understand your views on how the news unfolded.
A Historic Moment. This event marks an important time in United States history. Its unfolding in real-time portrays how we choose to publish, search for, and share historical events.
And, our use of social technology during this event reinforces the forever-changing, transformation of all media.
* Number of Members: Tens of thousands of companies, agencies and institutions worldwide
* Audiences Served: Thousands of media points through satellite delivery, tens of thousands more through email and fax delivery, more than 600 television stations, and reporters and bloggers from 27,000 news organizations registered for PR Newswire for Journalists, http://www.prnewswire.com/media, plus the general public and millions of investment professionals through more than 5,500 websites, online databases and financial networks.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Benefits. Earning coverage and an inbound link from PR Newswire provides important SEO and Google Rank benefits. Each one builds authority in Google's search engine algorithm:
* SEO Benefit #1: The PR Newswire inbound link equates to an influential and authoritative online vote because many websites link to PR Newswire's site.
* SEO Benefit #2: PR Newswire's inbound link helps increase Social Media ReInvention Blog's online reputation and credibility in social media marketing, social media strategy, and public relations strategy.
* SEO Benefit #3: Social Media ReInvention Blog's exposure to PR Newswire's wide audience increases the likelihood of more people discovering this blog.
What a Way to Start the Weekend! Achieving this online milestone is both thrilling and humbling. It's taken hard work and commitment. And, that hard work and commitment will continue.
