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Tony Faustino

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Week of 10/05/14 to 10/12/14

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Sunday Brunch Menu LARGE

Share-worthy links Social Media ReInvention Community Members can enjoy during Sunday brunch:

1) eMarketer: Second Screening During TV Time—It's Not What You Think. The television industry (and myself) thought associating Twitter #hashags with its programming increased higher audience engagement and participation. Wrong.

Check out this Facebook post detailing the Millward Brown Digital Study, From One Screen to Five: The New Way We Watch TV. Facebook collaborated with Millward Brown on the study.

This stat caught me by surprise (maybe it shouldn't). The number one ranked "second screen" competing for our time and attention isn't Facebook, Twitter, another social network, etc.

It's email. 

eMarketer is publishing a detailed report on our television and social media viewing habits called, “Simultaneous Media Use: Screen Fragmentation Complements Traditional Channels.” Here's a direct quote from the eMarketer article:

The takeaway is that a major portion of digital activity during TV shows has nothing to do with the show or the commercials. People simply drift away from the program and do other activities on their devices. This represents a transformation in the role of television from being a focal point to being just one of many screens competing for attention.

We're an iTV and Roku family (dumped cable months ago). Maybe, that's why I don't tweet, like, or post while watching tv. I'm focusing on the show (a rare treat).

2) McKinsey Quarterly: Tom Peters on Leading The 21st Century Organization. I'm a huge Tom Peters fan. At 71, he's still a rebel with a cause. I love and respect his candid and forthright views about developing and understanding an awareness of power, influence, and politics in organizations.

That's how change takes place in The Fortune 500. Change takes place by influencing and developing political allies (one person at a time).

Here are direct quotes from the article:

Change is about recruiting allies and working each other up to have the nerve to try the next experiment. You find allies. You encircle the buggers.

You don’t bring about change in real big meetings or virtual meetings. You bring it about one person at a time, face to face—when we discover we have some common interests and we’re both pissed off, say, at too many CEOs who talk about charts and boxes. And so we create a conspiracy.


Bonus 1: Mitch Joel's recent podcast with Tom Peters.

Bonus 2: My post, Tom Peters Personal Branding Lessons, Part 1: Why YOUR Blog Matters. Mr. Peters linked to this post and cites it on his Media Sightings Page.

3) Brynne Tillman and The LinkedIn Challenge #thelinkedinchallenge. Brynne's LinkedIn Posts on Social Selling and maximizing LinkedIn's utility and power in our professional lives never cease to amaze me. She's a bona fide subject matter expert in her field.

Her creativity to create and initiate #thelinkedinchallenge is genius. It's a clever take on the #ALSChallenge. The purpose: connect and introduce two (2) Linked connections who can benefit from each other.

I participated right off the bat. Here's my Twitter conversation with Brynne:

 

Brynne Tillman #thelinkedinchallenge coversation 2014-10-12 at 2.36.23 PM

4) John Mack and The Pharma Marketing Blog: #mHealtMobile Chat Takeaway: Pharma Must Involve Patients Early on When Developing Mobile Health Apps. Last week, I participated in the #mHealthPharma Tweetchat. John lead and moderated 45 global participants!

And, he performed brilliantly.

I first discovered the initial discussion thread in this LinkedIn Group: Mobile Health Global.  The topic centered on this question: "What stands in the way of pharma developing high quality mobile health apps?" This is the headline of our first debate.Participate in it here since the 25th of September. John Mack will moderate it!

I love discovering LinkedIn Discussion Groups like this one! I virtually met and conversed with smart, passionate, and thought-provoking people in the LinkedIn Group and the #mHealthPharma Tweetchat.

Here are links to their Twitter Profiles:

Check out Teresa Bau's Storify presentation. I have to learn how to do this because it's pretty cool:



 

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Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Week of 09/28/14 to 10/05/14

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Sunday Brunch Menu LARGE

Share-worthy links Social Media ReInvention Community Members can enjoy during Sunday brunch:

 

1) YouTube: Enhance Your Lighting – GE Commercial. Jeff Goldblum provides a brilliant and hysterical performance in the GE advertising campaign for #EnhanceYourLighting. Views continue exploding (1,394,000+ when I wrote this post). GE takes mundane advertising and transforms it into funny, memorable, and campy content.

Hat Tip — Fast Company: JEFF GOLDBLUM GETS TOPLESS FOR GE, NYC GETS A NEW HEART: THE TOP 5 ADS OF THE WEEK.

 

2) YouTube: Introducing the Post-it® Plus App. No, I won't shut up about this app because I'm a Post-it® geek. Welcome to The Collaboration Age. Enjoy this video and wear your Post-it® geekiness as a badge of honor.

 

 
3) Forbes: Gone From Microsoft, Ballmer Begins A Surprising Second Act. George Anders wrote this great profile about Steve Ballmer (former Microsoft CEO, now owner of the Los Angeles Clippers NBA franchise). Anders' article about how Ballmer is approaching this phase of his professional life is a great example of personal branding and reinvention:

  • Ballmer analytically approaches problem solving or new challenges by researching as much as he can through self-study or interviewing experts. The guy is 58, worth $22.5 billion, and wants to stay in the game.
  • Ballmer continues taking calculated risks. Anders references this quote from an August 2014 ESPN interview ESPN conducted with Ballmer: “It’s not a cheap price, but when you’re used to looking at tech companies with huge risk, no earnings and huge multiples, this doesn’t look like the craziest thing I’ve ever acquired.”

4) Forbes: Finding Alibaba — How Jerry Yang Made The Most Lucrative Bet In Silicon Valley History. Parmy Olson reveals Jerry Yang's second act reinvention after leaving Yahoo in 2012. He's now a venture capitalist, Founding Partner of AME Cloud Ventures, and power broker.

Olson's article proves trust and familiarity are the heart and soul of business relationships (versus Excel spreadsheets forecasting ROI). Jack Ma (Chairman and CEO of Alibaba) and Yang's friendship started in 1997 (and may save Yahoo).

Not convinced? The Forbes article cites 36 billion reasons.

5) The New York Times: New York Times Plans to Eliminate 100 Jobs in the Newsroom. Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. (Publisher) and Mark Thompson (Chief Executive) announced the cuts October 1st. Here are some direct quotes:  

  • "The job losses are necessary to control our costs and to allow us to continue to invest in the digital future of The New York Times, but we know that they will be painful both for the individuals affected and for their colleagues."
  • (Referencing the discontinued NYT Opinion app and ongoing NYT Cooking app) "They are all experiments, which we are determined to treat as such: to learn, pivot and, where necessary, make prompt decisions about them."

I admire and respect how a revered publishing institution like The New York Times attempts to adapt a Lean Startup mindset and culture. Yes, they're conducting experiments, validating learning, pivoting, etc.  

But, it takes more than carefully sprinkled buzzwords in another announcement explaining job cuts. Organizations like The Times (and others) must wake up to the painful realization that lean startups do not require 1990's staffing levels and infrastructure.

Why doesn't the New York Times "just get on with it." They will thrive as a digital publisher. If it wants to go fully digital, why not commit now and:

  • Quantify the required subscriptions to build and sustain a digital business.
  • Determine and make the REAL job cuts needed.
  • Retain the required staff and physical assets for optimizing a digital MVP (minimal viable product).

But, it won't.

So, the bloodshed continues …

 

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Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Week of 09/22/14

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Sunday Brunch Menu LARGE

Share-worthy links Social Media ReInvention Community Members can enjoy during Sunday brunch:

1) MarketingLand: Up Close: Ello, The New Social Network That Is So Hot Right Now. I read / curated many articles on Silicon Valley's latest social networking sweetheart. Martin Beck's comprehensive review is a must-read:

  • Martin highlights important, missing features in the launch release (e.g., like/favorite/+1 type button, search ability to locate friends, etc.).
  • I'm working on securing an invite so I can test-drive Ello. Will keep you posted.

2) Fast Company: LOVE POST-IT NOTES? YOU'LL LOVE THIS NEW PRODUCTIVITY APP THAT DIGITIZES THEM. 3-M developed this brilliant iPhone app, Post-it(R) Plus. 

I'm a visual person. Post-It(R) Notes are my storyboarding savior (colleagues say I have an illness and should seek professional help). 

  • The app allows users to digitize their Post-It(R) Notes from brainstorming and storyboarding sessions. There's a 50 note limit for the image capture.
  • You can share, rearrange, categorize, and build additional storyboards with the app. Users can export the digital session into other tools (e.g., Evernote, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.).
  • This first version doesn't allow changing the names on the Post-its(R) once they're digitized (but future iterations will probably include this improvement).
  • The app requires updating to iOS 8. Yes, I endured a 2+ hour update session for my iPhone 5c so I could use Post-it(R) Plus tomorrow at work (which is why I require professional help).

3) TechCrunch: Closing The Gaps In Mobile Health. Dan Pelino's piece describes the IBM-Apple value proposition and long term implications of the Apple econsystem in a real-world example. Look out healthcare this strategic alliance wants to disrupt your industry. Their solutions will focus on physicians and patients.

  • (direct article quote) Many doctors already have smartphones with 68 percent using iPhones and 59 percent using iPads.

 And, speaking of IBM …

4) Fortune: IBM CEO Ginni Rometty Gets Past the Big Blues. IBM's first female CEO shares her thoughts on the Apple alliance and her strategic vision for Big Blue's latest transformation:

  • Focus on Three (3) Core Areas: Big Data, Cloud Computing, and Engagement (mobile and social technologies
  • Stick to Ginni's Rules: Don't Protect The Past. Never Be Defined by Your Product. Always Transform Yourself.
  • Continue Reinventing IBM: See bullet points (1) and (2).

 

5) Budweiser: Global Be(er) Responsible Day | “Friends Are Waiting” Campaign. The #FriendsAreWaiting spot to discourage drunk driving is storytelling brilliance in 60 seconds or less (almost). This video hits all the right notes: emotional, memorable, conflict, and resolution. Somewhere, Pixar creatives are smiling.

 

 

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If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Week of 09/15/14

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Sunday Brunch Menu LARGE

Share-worthy links Social Media ReInvention Community Members can enjoy during Sunday brunch:

1) Bloomberg Businessweek: Tim Cook Interview: The iPhone 6, the Apple Watch, and Remaking a Company's Culture. Brad Stone shows how Tim Cook transformed a post-Steve Jobs Apple:

  • Collaboration inside Apple among hardware, software, and services. Departments worked in their own silos and defended turfs in the Steve Jobs era. Apple Watch marks the first product launch where multiple departments and large teams worked together. The renegade teams who broke off from the rest of the company and operated in secrecy are history.
  • The turning point – firing Scott Forstall. Forstall led software development for the iPad and iPhone under Steve Jobs. Cook broadened responsibilities among his top leaders. Jony Ive (Apple's Head of Design) assumed leadership of the look/feel of Apple iOS while Craig Federighi (Senior VP for Software Engineering) took mobile operating systems. Stone notes: "It was a plan designed to break down walls and extinguish infighting, executed with precision."
  • Financial discipline. Stone writes: "In meetings once devoted to the hallowed act of reviewing products, he (Tim Cook) asks managers pointed questions about spending and hiring projections, says a person involved. Staff from finance and operations now sit alongside engineers and designers in product road map sessions with key component partners."
  • Collaboration with external partners to penetrate untapped markets (aka the enterprise / large corporations). Anecdotes from IBM CEO, Ginni Rometty, and Cook's rationale for their partnership are gold.

 

2) Fortune: Peter Thiel Disagrees With You. Roger Parloff (Senior Editor of Legal Affairs,  Fortune Magazine) interviews Silicon Valley's Peter Thiel.  Parloff's article describes the philosophies and relationships influencing Thiel's business decisions: 

 

 

3) Fast Company: The $3.2 Billion Man: Can Google's Newest Star Outsmart Apple? Austin Carr's profile of Tony Fadell (Founder and CEO of Nest) details Fadell's decision to join Google, his relationship with Steve Jobs (his former mentor), and Fadell's pursuit of perfection with Nest products. The article concludes with Fadell's comments on Larry Page as his "next mentor."

  

 
4) eMarketer: Millennials Respond to Brand Transparency—for Health and Other Products. Erin Byrne (Chief Engagement Officer, Grey Healthcare Group) shares her thoughts on how pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare companies can earn the trust of millennials:

  • Give them information to make their own decisions. They trust their own research via an information journey. "You can't scare them into behavior."
  • Recongnize millennials are a "multi-screen generation." They consume information via their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and print magazines. Make sure your content "syncs up."
  • Be honest and transparent. Millennials trust social sources. Channel-optimize your message and explain the brand/service benefits. 


5) The Paley Center for Media: Jerry Seinfeld and David Letterman (Full Program). Mitch Joel published a blog post about the link between Seinfeld's ideas for Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and creating differentiating content:

  • Season One is ten (10) individual garage experiments. Seinfeld wanted to test his theories on attracting online audiences for a new show (e.g., movement of the guests, movement of the cars, etc.). He guessed on what might work (or might not). He wanted to learn from the experience.
  • The original episodes weren't written or optimized for smartphone viewing. Seinfeld produced the show for desktop viewing. Analytics proved people watched the show at work on their laptops/desktops via time of day viewing.
  • He pitched the show to Facebook, YouTube, and other Silicon Valley royalty. They passed. 
  • Four (4) people create, produce, and edit the show (Seinfeld included). Production costs are $100,000 per episode. The Internet allows Seinfeld creative freedom a cable network won't provide. That's why he enjoys doing the work.

 

 

Did you enjoy this post? If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Weeks of 09/01/14 and 09/08/14

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Share-worthy and thought-provoking links I thought Social Media ReInvention Community Members would like to read while enjoying Sunday brunch:

1) The Wall Sreet Journal: US Mail Delivers Amazon Groceries in San Francisco. The US Postal Service (USPS) continues to hustle, reinvent, and adapt. They capitalized on their current strategic alliance with Amazon to play in eCommere and enter more profitable services (e.g., package delivery). Remember, when USPS started making Sunday deliveries for Amazon in 2011? The article describes the Amazon-USPS alliance as mutually beneficial:

  • Package deliveries are up 20% over the past 5 years to 3.7 billion packages
  • The 60-day experiment began in August and is limited to the San Francisco area
  • US Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe considers Amazon "excellent, excellent customer and an excellent partner."
  • The USPS expands Amazon Fresh's geographic reach
  • Amazon wants to expand beyond the current 12 cities USPS is providing Sunday delivery

2) BloombergBusinessWeek: How to Get Into an Ivy League College—Guaranteed. Can big data and predictive analytics get your child into Harvard? For $600,000, Steven Ma, Founder of Think Tank Learning, claims he can (and provides a money back guarantee). The company generates $18 million annually and serves 10,000 students throughout northern California and China (Beijing and Shenzhen). Northern California Asian American families and wealthy Chinese familes comprise 90% of ThinkTank's clientele. Their website and published content are an excellent case study in digital content marketing strategy and buyer personas. It's a fascinating story especially when American undergraduate programs are under fire for rising expenses and questionable ROI. 

3) LinkedIn Pulse: Club Ed: How Some Colleges Became $41k-a-Year Gyms. Point-of-view from LinkedIn Influencer and Bain & Company's Jeff Denneen on the escalating costs at American universities. The article discusses "the arms race" or "Law of More" for student amenities at competing private schools (e.g., gourmet, organic-ingredient meals, student athletic facilities, enhanced student housing, etc.). Denneen poses the question on the ROI these costs deliver to students upon graduation. Why? Thousands of students from private universities can no longer afford these amenitiies post-graduation because of either A) Unemployment or B) Under-employment (accepting jobs not requiring a college degrees). 

4) MarketingLand: Ford Motor Company Takes A Newsjacking Bite Out Of #Applelive Event. My fave article in this post.This is brilliant, timely, and funny newsjacking. Ford flipped on its head the attributes of the ballyhooed Apple Watch and apply them to their brands in real-time, laugh-out-loud, newsjacking examples. Denny's and Crest also delivered creative #AppleLive newsjacks. 

5) Fortune Magazine: How Google Works. Eric Schmidt (Google's Chairman) and Jonathan Rosenberg (Google's former Head of Product Development and Senior Vice President of Product Management) provide excerpts and thoughts from their upcoming book How Google Works. Key insights shared include why Google's approach to sustaining its growth (systematizing innovation into company culture), identifying talent (hiring the smartest people possible who critically think and continuously adapt versus hiring for specific job position criteria), and nurturing talent (aggressively rotate the most passionate people into different organizations — e.g., "pass the M&Ms and not the raisins."

 

Did you enjoy this post? If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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Social Media ReInvention Featured in LinkedIn Pulse Social Media Channel

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LinkedIn Logo Office

Exciting news for the Social Media ReInvention Community! LinkedIn Pulse is featuring my post #FAIL: #AppleLive Debacle Exposes Apple's Real-Time Marketing Weaknesses in its Social Media Channel! 

This is a HUGE honor. The LinkedIn Pulse Team is highly selective when it comes to featured posts. When LinkedIn Pulse selects and promotes your content, you gain increased access to millions of LinkedIn members. For example, the LinkedIn Pulse Social Media Channel has 3,043,607 subscribers!

At the time of writing, the post has received on LinkedIn:

  • 1,809 views
  • 118 "Likes" 
  • 52 "Shares" 
  • 16 comments

Lightning Sometimes Strikes Twice

This is the second time LinkedIn Pulse featured my content in its Social Media Channel. 3 Tips on Writing and Storytelling from Twitter's Investor Relations Team was featured in August 2014.

Thank You to The Social Media ReInvention Community!

I couldn't have achieved this success without your continuing support, generosity, and loyalty. I'm absolutely thrilled! 

 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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#FAIL: #AppleLive Debacle Exposes Apple’s Real-Time Marketing Weaknesses

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Fail Sign with Bob Dylan

 

To say today’s #AppleLive stream event went poorly is an understatement. I tried to watch from my iPhone, but the audio glitches with simultaneous translation and poor video quality made it unwatchable. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my frustration:

Topsy #AppleLive Stream Problems Query

Topsy Query #AppleLive not working

Topsy Query #AppleLive Stream #Fail

 

Instead, I monitored the Twitter streams of the Wall Street Journal’s Johanna Stern, Geoffrey Fowler, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Brian Fitzgerald, and Wilson Rothman. Kudos to them for providing the real-time support and updates #AppleLive failed to deliver.

 

Why Doesn’t Apple Want to Communicate in Real-Time Marketing Speed and Agility with Its Devoted Fans?

Apple acquired Topsy in December 2013. It was a brilliant move to bolster their real-time and mobile capabilities in their products and services because consumers live in a one-screen world. So with all this rich Twitter data, why isn’t real-time Twitter communications with its rabid fanbase a strategic priority among senior leadership?

Let’s examine how Apple’s Senior’s Leadership used Twitter during the biggest and most important live event in the company’s history in five (5) years:

 

Apple Senior Executive Leadership Number of Tweets During Sept 9th Event

Where Was Musa Tariq, Digital Marketing Director for Apple Retail?

It shocks me Apple’s top digital talent posted a total of four (4) tweets during the live event. 4. That’s it. Why was he silent during the #AppleLive stream meltdown? Why wasn’t he communicating with fans during this crisis?

Musa Tariq Twitter Stream Sept 9

 

Most of All, Why was Angela Ahrendts Noticeably Absent?

The media hype teed up this event as an unprecendented public relations coup for Apple. Didn’t Apple remember the negative criticism it and other Silicon Valley royalty received in recent months about gender imbalance and lack of diversity?

Therefore, why wasn’t Angela Ahrendts a visible part of the whole damn event and the introduction of Apple’s most important product in recent memory? She transformed Burberry into one of the most coveted and successful global luxury brands. The Apple Watch pricing is clearly positioned for the luxury demographic.

Instead, we get this. One (1) tweet. Are you kidding me????? Why was one of the world’s greatest marketers silently sitting on the sideline????

 

Angela Ahrendts Sept 9 Tweet

Closing Thoughts

The #AppleLive stream disaster exposed the consequences of Apple deciding not to participate in real-time communications during the Steve Jobs era. Sadly, they’re continuing on the same path with Tim Cook.

Smart competitors will capitalize on this opening. If you can’t compete on size and brute force, compete on speed and agility. That’s how David beat Goliath.

Bonus #1: Check out Dan Munro‘s LinkedIn post: Apple’s Colossal Marketing Mix

Bonus #2: Read Emmanuel Kolade‘s LinkedIn post: Apple Pay – Why Apple is Giving 500 Million People a U2 Album for Free

Bonus #3: See Georgia Wells‘ Wall Street Journal article: ‘Songs of Innocence’ Giving You Vertigo? Remove U2′s Free Album From iTunes

Bonus #4: Go to this Apple Support page to remove U2’s “Songs of Innocence” album from your iTunes Music Library and Purchases:

Apple Support Page to Remove U2 Songs of Innocence from iTunes Music Library 10.01.15 PM

 

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Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.

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Book Review: The New Rules of Sales and Service by David Meerman Scott

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New Rules of Sales & Service Book Cover

The New Rules of Sales & Service by David Meerman Scott

"Sooner or later the world will be interested in your area of expertise." — David Meerman Scott from The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business.

But, will YOU (companies or individuals) be able to deliver YOUR expertise at PRECISELY the RIGHT time when the customer needs it?

That's just one of several game-changing concepts David Meerman Scott describes in hs latest book.

BOTTOM LINE: Buy and study it. The New Rules of Sales and Service (NRSS) ROCKS!! It's destined to become another Meerman Scott classic.

Social Media ReInvention Community Members know I'm a huge fan and student of David's teachings.

I own and constantly refer to these classic books: 

  • The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly
  • Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History

As soon as I learned about this book, I pre-ordered the NRSS hardcover and Kindle versions.  My review is based on an advance, draft copy of The New Rules of Sales and Service on which I'm basing this review.


A Rebel with a Cause

The New Rules of Sales and Service is written in David's trademark style: challenging marketing strategy's status quo (with a rebel's heart). His thoughtful, entertaining, and case study-rich content applies to Fortune 100, small businesses, and individuals who genuinely desire to competitively differentiate themselves.  

David Meerman Scott – Real-Time Sales and Marketing Speaker from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.



Game Changing Rules in Selling and Customer Service

Among the game changing arguments David makes in numerous case studies (~10 per chapter) is how marketing, sales, and service can no longer exist in functional silos. Every employee is (and should be) accountable for marketing, selling, and servicing new and existing customers because the social tools are available online to everyone.

The New Rules of Sales and Service extend beyond it's a "cross-functional" thing. It's now an "all-hands-on-deck" thing.  

Executing and sustaining an NRSS-driven culture requires top-down, CEO-driven leadership. Successful New Rules of Sales and Service practitioners instill a participative and trusting company culture. These leaders enable all employees to capitalize in social, one-to-one, real-time, customer communications throughout the entire buying process. David interviewed company leaders who trust and expect their team members (regardless of departmental function) to:  

1. Acquire NEW customers and MAINTAIN existing customer relationships using social tools in real-time interactions (e.g., concepts of AGILE selling and real-time speed & engagement; Case Study: Avaya)

2. Contribute and share valuable content to educate and inform customers in the pre- and post-sale process AT THE PRECISE TIME THE CUSTOMER NEEDS IT (e.g., CONTEXTUAL & consultative selling vs. hard-selling tactics; Case Study: Kendall PRess)

3. Collect and analyze real-time customer data to support real-time content delivery, service actions, and sales interactions (e.g., salesperson comes in later in buying process OR no salesperson; Case Study:GadCAD)

4. Convey stories about the company's products / services aligning with the customer's view of themselves (e.g., buyer persona research, newsjacking; Case Study: MultiCare Health Systems)  

That opportunistic mindset drives competitive differentiation at both a tactical and strategic level.  

By the way, David's research confirms blogging is far from dead. Long form content may be the best social tool in authentically demonstrating one company's "truth" to a competitor's public relations "spin."  


Closing Thoughts

Will more and future leaders trust their teams and David's rich teachings in NRSS? Time will tell. But, why wait? Gain the upper hand by buying and studying David's work. The hardcover book officially ships today, September 2nd. 

Bonus #1: David published this free eBook on SlideShare, The New Rules of Selling: How Agile and Real-Time Sales Grow Your Business Now. It's 158 pages of New Rules Classic Goodness!

 

Bonus #2: David's Agile Marketing Presentation At the MCT 14th Marketing Summit in Istanbul, Turkey

Agile Marketing by David Meerman Scott from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

  

Bonus #3: (STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS) Mind Maps of Chapters 1-7. The goal is to have the remaining Chapters 8-10 completed by the end of next weekend. I'm still experimenting w/ the XMind Mind Mapping Software to make the maps easier to read in slide show mode.

Please be patient, and I'll update this post as quickly as I can. Here's what they look like so far (I know I can't read'em either):

 

 

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Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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Steal These 5 Tips for Remarkable Writing from Ryan Holmes, HootSuite CEO

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Last week Ryan Holmes, Hootsuite’s CEO, published “What’s (Really) Behind Gender Imbalance in Tech Careers” in the LinkedIn Publishing Platform. He also published an earlier version titled, “Culture or Nurture? Getting to the Bottom of Tech’s Gender Imbalance,” on the Hootsuite Blog.

So far, Ryan’s LinkedIn post earned:

  • 33,000+ Views
  • 620+ Likes
  • 270+ Comments

Wow! I’d love to drive traffic and engagement levels for my own LinkedIn content!

The Power and Status of Personal Brand

Yes, Ryan holds LinkedIn INfluencer status. On a daily basis, he cultivates and promotes a prominent and trusted personal brand. He’s CEO of services utilized by scores of digital marketing practitioners (including myself).

Paraphrasing another media influencer, Ryan Holmes is kind of a big deal.

 

All of Us Can Create Remarkable LinkedIn Posts (Even If We’re Not a Big Deal)

I’m not a big deal. I suspect most self-publishers in LinkedIn’s 313 million membership base aren’t   either. But, LinkedIn inFluencers aren’t the only members with valuable writing, thoughts, and experiences to contribute to the LinkedIn Community.

Through disciplined practice and study, we can learn how to create great content (just like inFluencers like Ryan Holmes). Let’s examine Ryan’s post for clues on what to “steal.”  In the words of Pablo Picasso …

 

1. Write a Crisp, Eye-Catching, Headline

Easier said then done. I changed my headline 20+ times. It’s an iterative process. Here are the headlines Ryan published for the Hootsuite blog and LinkedIn:

Notice the tight precision of both headlines. In Ryan’s LinkedIn post, “(Really)” caught my attention and caused me to click on his post. The Hootsuite blog example poses a question. If we want to learn Ryan’s conclusions, I have to read the post. Great link bait.

Check out the efficient number of characters (with spaces):

  • Hootsuite Blog Post: 68 characters
  • LinkedIn Post: 55 characters

See how both headlines are Twitter-optimitized. Each leaves lots of room for retweets (RTs) and additional comments for Ryan’s ~52,000 followers.

Bonus:  Buffer’s articles for writing compelling headlines:

2. Support Your Argument with a Picture Painting the Story

The picture Ryan selected and credited cuts straight to his argument.  It’s ironic, humorous, and to-the-point. An unforgettable lead-in to initiate an important discussion.

Bonus: flickr’s Creative Commons Photo Galleries. Talented, generous photographers share their art in return for proper attribution. When using their photos, do the right thing and link back to their flickr gallery.

3. Newsjack Breaking News to Your Competitive Advantage

The gender imbalance issue in tech gained news momentum in late May 2014 when Google released its workforce diversity numbers and accelerated when Facebook released its workforce diversity data in late June 2014:

Google Trends Women in Tech 8-23-14

Google Trends Women in Tech Keyword Search 8-23-14

Workforce diversity in tech is an important, high traction news subject. Ryan re-framed this situation by opportunistically:

  • Turning the top-of-mind, news tide to Hootsuite’s advantage
  • Providing Hootsuite’s workforce diversity data
  • Introducing his perspective on the current and future state of workforce diversity at Hootsuite and the global tech industry

His leadership in understanding of this particular situation is a case study in top-down, CEO-driven, real-time communications and newsjacking (the art of introducing your ideas into breaking news stories). It’s 21st century, CEO media savvy and tactics at its finest.

Pay attention to breaking news events. They may inspire your creativity for your next post.

Bonus:  HubSpot Inbound Marketing Blog — The Inbound Marketer’s Complete Guide to Newsjacking

4. Acknowledge the Situation and Propose Measurable Solutions

Ryan distinguishes his communication by writing a first-hand account acknowledging gender imbalance in both Hootsuite and the technology industry. His Hoosuite Blog and LinkedIn Publishing Platform posts cite his company’s diversity numbers among 600 employees:

  • 40 percent are women
  • 23 percent work in tech roles
  • 38 percent hold leadership positions

In his words:

 “This comes out a bit better—but certainly not much—than at the other companies**. What exactly are we doing differently and, more importantly, what we can we do better?”

**Note: “other companies” refers to Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Intel, and Twitter (mentioned in Ryan’s previous paragraph).

He follows his acknowledgement by proposing solutions at both industry and company levels:

Bonus: About The Next Big Thing Foundation’s YouTube Video —

 

5. State the Call-to-Action (CTA)

Ryan concludes his Hootsuite Blog post with an inspiring CTA: Help Us Change Tech’s Gender Imbalance. Wow.

I understand why he wrote a different CTA in his LinkedIn Post. But, I believe he earned the right to publish that CTA in both posts.

 

Ryan Holmes Blog Post Call-to-Action

Ryan Holmes Call-to-Action: “Help Us Change Tech’s Gender Imbalance”

 

Closing Thoughts

Reid Hoffman founded LinkedIn on the promise of network intelligence mutually benefiting a community at mass scale. We have to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable. Holding our  knowledge, ideas, and writing hostage benefits no one.

  • Share.
  • Publish.
  • Learn.
  • Practice.
  • Repeat.

Ryan Holmes does all of the above (and more).

More importantly, publishing his LinkedIn post and stating his call-to-action on the Hootsuite Blog may positively impact ONE woman’s professional career prospects (maybe her entire life).

Making a difference in one person’s professional life doesn’t require 33,000+ views. It takes ONE VIEW of ONE POST.

That post could be yours …

 


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How Silver Oak Cellars Emotionally Connects Special Moments with Visual Stories

by

Silver Oaks Cellar Purple GrapesAfter reading David Meerman Scott's blog post on Silver Oaks Cellars (it's also published here on LinkedIn), I checked out their website to learn which social media channels anchor their digital marketing strategy. I discovered a remarkable, content marketing strategy sharing three (3) types of visual stories emotionally connecting:

1. Special moments with amazing products (as described in David's post). 

2. Remarkable people who craft amazing products.  

3. Beautiful locations and special moments with amazing products and remarkable people.

Silver Oak Cellars unifies and tells these visual stories through multiple social channels: 

Here's a look at how Silver Oak Cellars uses their visual, multi-channel social media strategy to emotionally connect special moments with their audience.

1. Sharing Special Moments with Amazing Products

 

 

2. Describing Remarkable People Who Craft Amazing Products

 

 

 

  

 

 

3. Experiencing Special Moments in Beautiful Places with Amazing Products and Remarkable People

 

 

 

 

What Are The Stories You Want to Tell? How Do You Emotionally Connect Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Employees to Your Audience?

When I combed through Silver Oaks Cellars multiple social channels, these visual stories emotionally connected with me. That emotional connection differentiates a brand, a service, a product, or a company from its competition.

And, that emotional connection is unique for each of us. That unique, individual meaning defines special moments.

How do you emotionally connect with your audience? What works for you? Is it images, video, words, voice, or something else?

Please let me know in the comments. I want to connect too.

 

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Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.