Thank you Orange County Register for hosting a Mashable Social Media Day event.
How did you celebrate #Mashable’s Social Media Day? I celebrated it with my local social media club, Social Media Mastermind of Orange County (SMMOC) at the Orange County Register. For those of you who know me, you know that I love to support journalists and their publications, therefore, it was a win-win for me to be at the OCRegister.
Kudos to everyone who was involved at this local gathering. Employees at the paper, like Kevin Sablan, did an amazing job of lining up speakers, equipment, parking access and food vendors. The content that was provided was definitely “remark-able” and hopefully, a good time was had by all.
YEAH FOR SOCIAL MEDIA DAY
To help give you a flavor of what our day was like, I put some pictures together and produced a short video. The best thing about this day is the fact if you couldn’t make it to any event – you could still participate by following on the dozens of twitter hashtags that cropped up representing social activities throughout the world. It’s now becoming one of my favorite days of the year.
One thing you are never going to hear from a medical doctor is that you’re half-pregnant. A woman is either pregnant or not. There are no other alternatives. It’s black or white, not gray. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t be half-pregnant in regards to business and/or marketing. In fact, in my humble opinion, I feel this diagnosis of late is in epidemic proportions.
How I define half-pregnancy in marketing and business is as such: “Trying to offend anyone or anything by choosing a side, even when a side is presented.” Again, this my definition and is not official.
GO AHEAD AND TAKE A SIDE
Half-pregnancy is a common practice in politics. Politicians are always trying to walk a fine line to please all parties. They are very careful when they make “stands” on issues and subjects that they try to make sure that both political parties will agree to some or all of the parts.
It’s this ‘not wanting’ to offend that impregnates the situation. And, that tightrope places that “said” person or thing in the vast and valueless wasteland of the dreaded “gray area.” Whenever you set out to become like Switzerland (slang meaning – not making waves or taking any sides… being neutral), then you are setting yourself up to not gain attention. Its similar to this saying – ‘When a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make noise?’
Taking a stance, side and position is important in making noise. Politicians want to be remembered and not forgotten because their words lacked opinion or substance. But in this day and age of transparency (being authentic), it’s very easy for people to find out information. If you want to hold the line that you don’t have a particular agenda, they can find out in a matter of seconds if that’s indeed true.
Hello, I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up! Does anyone hear me?- Flickr Credit: Sage
To make this point a bit clearer, let’s look at this hypothetical situation. Jane Doe is running for State Governor and she says as a female she believes that women should have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies and that birth begins at the moment of conception. She is referring to both the pro-life and pro-choice abortion movements with her professed beliefs. But, she has regularly attended pro-life rallies and fundraisers as a part of her Catholic parish, as such it would be easy to figure out she leans more toward that cause. Which to me is fine. I am trying to make the point here that is fine to take sides, in fact its beneficial. Be who you are and make stances. Otherwise, the noise you make maybe only heard by you and that’s not a good PR move.
LEARNING THE HARD WAY
I found this out myself. Here’s what happened to me. When I entered college I wanted to pursue a career as as sportscaster (don’t laugh too hard). With that, I was able to finagle being the guest on a local radio sports show. It was my first foray into media and I was nervous, yet excited about the opportunity. Five minutes into the interview he asked me my opinion about who would win the “freeway series,” between The Los Angeles Dodgers and then the California Angels. I said something to the effect like “both teams seemed to performed strongly in pre-season” – I was in Switzerland, I gave a valueless “gray answer” and boy I got ripped when we went to the next commercial. The local sportscaster told me if I wanted a future in the business, I needed to have an ‘opinion’ on everything and I had to boldly state it. Otherwise, I would never make it. I needed to take a stance; he was right and that thought has stuck with me ever since.
I also often use this statement that I overheard somewhere…”when throwing a dinner party, it’s best to invite guests of differing opinions. Otherwise, it would make for one boring and long dinner discussion if we all agreed on the same subjects.” I so agree. We all can learn from each other.
So I’m taking a stance against the gray area and half-pregnancy and hope that you will call me out if you see me falling into this common practice. Is this something you have experienced too? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
The countdown to the Prime Time Emmy Awards has begun.
Well, the process began months ago, when producers/production companies and networks began thinking about which shows, actors and crew would be nominated for TV’s highest awards. April 29 was the deadline for all entries and since that time, members like me have been inundated with DVD screeners.
THE PR POSTMAN COMETH
For you see, producers, production companies and/or networks, often create DVD screeners which are mailed during the nomination window of March to June 10. These people think that by investing in screeners that their show has a better chance of being voted on for who in their right mind, besides a TV critic, is able to sample everything on air. It’s impossible.
For over 15 years I have been a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ and as such, I have received DVD screeners for that length of time. I love getting them and yes, I do watch them. They prove extremely helpful when it is time for me to cast my vote. In addition to having an additional opportunity to catch particular shows, I love observing how each DVD is branded. Each has its own unique nuance and price point and so I thought I’d show the DVDs I was mailed this year. For examples, please view the video below.
TOP 5 EMMY SCREENERS
As you see, producing and mailing screeners are not a cheap endeavor, it is quite an investment. However, if I was able to vote on which were the best, these would be my top five.
She's Literally "Torn" Between Them - Spot On Brand Marketing
(1) HBO – They packaged their series, documentaries and specials in easily identifiable box cartons. They use this same box design every year as they should because it’s brilliantly useful and its cover art is stunning. It reeks of class and prestige and it showcases dozens of shows in a small space. Magnificent.
(2) THE GOOD WIFE - HBO may be my overall winner, but “The Good Wife’s” design and messaging was my top choice for a single program. I do not watch the show, but I am aware that the lead character in the series has been struggling deciding between two men in her life. Therefore, by having a spot in the middle of the package that you have to tear to open was brilliant. The tear literally separates the main character from the two men.
(3.) BIO – I thought Bio’s packaging was extremely smart and classy and compact. They included a page for each of their shows and bundled it all up with one nice case that had a magnetic clasp.
(4.) MODERN FAMILY – I have to give ABC’s “Modern Family” marketing team an A for ambition. They organized a separate photo shoot just for the DVD screener. All others just used gallery photos.
(5.) FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ DVD screener is a definite keeper. I have to admit my bias here…but I absolutely have loved every minute of this TV series. And its screener is spot on perfect in carrying off the tone and sentiment of the show. Fans of this series will not soon forget it and thanks to the producers, we don’t have to with this screener. In addition to providing every episode of the last season, they have tucked away in an inside compartment small photographs of key moments and characters in the show. This extra touch was wonderful just like the show.
Friday Night Lights DVD Screener Carried the Sentiment and Tone of the Show. Hopefully, Emmy voters will have clear eyes and full hearts so it can't lose.
Well, that about wraps it up for me with this post. I hope you have enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek at the Emmy voting process. I have to be going now for I have a lot of television to watch before June 24. That’s my deadline to send in my Emmy ballot.
Talking Hashtags with Darin, Lisa and Kate McClure. Photo Credit:@Amykimesdesign
For those of us who are involved in the television industry, the rule of thumb has always been to put titles of TV shows in quotes whenever they are written about in releases or press articles. Therefore, if I was writing a press release about Fox’s hit show “Glee,” I would have it written with the quotes as I did in this sentence.
Yesterday I was looking at my Twitter stream of some of my media colleagues and I noticed that they were not using hashtags properly and in fact, really not using them at all. For you see, these reporters are tweeting about specific TV shows, but they are putting the titles in quotes when they should be putting a hashtag instead.
Do you know what a Twitter hashtag is and are you using them on a regular basis?
In case you are new to hashtags, here’s how Twitter defines them: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.
THE PROPER USE OF HASHTAGS
Corporate Media Strategist Darin R. McClure of Ready To Go Information Technologies is often overheard saying that search is not the problem with the Internet, its sorting the information which is the most difficult. He and his wife, Lisa, are advocates of Twitter and both have a in-depth knowledge about Twitter’s multiple uses for companies and users. If you follow their respective Twitter streams (@darinrmcclure,@lisamcclure) you will watch poetry in 140-character action. They are extremely gracious and informative and involved in organizing several high level Twitter chats (full blown regular conversations). I highly recommend you follow them.
I recently was able to catch up with both Darin and Lisa and interview them about the merits of using twitter hashtags. That interview is below.
1. People on Twitter use hashtags before relevant keywords to categorize their tweets so that a particular topic shows up more easily in Twitter Search.
2. If you click on a hashtagged word in any message, you will see all other Tweets in that category.
3. The most popular hashtagged words often become trending topics and if your tweet is re-tweeted a lot, it can become the top tweet for that topic.
Can you Over Hashtag? As a general rule of thumb, Twitter.com recommends no more than three hashtags per tweet. Anything over that number is considered over-tagging and yes, they even call it hashtag spam.
IN SUMMARY
When tweeting about topics, use a (#) and not (” “).
Don’t start your tweets with an @ symbol. Put some letter or words before it…Like “Hi” and then address the person in the tweet. That way your tweet is open to your entire twitter stream.
Check out Tweetchat.com when wanting to connect with others who are passionate about your same topics.
And follow me, Lisa and Darin too. We’d love to continue this hashtag conversation with you!
About the Author: Cindy Ronzoni loves conversations on any platform. As an experienced communicator, Cindy often writes about devices or methods to promote people, places and products. She also is an active member of Orange County, California’s social media endeavors and as such, gets the privilege of rubbing elbows with such astute practicioners as Darin and Lisa McClure. Cindy also frequently writes about small business matters on her company blog at: http://socialspreadmedia.com.
A savvy award-winning marketing colleague of mine took me to task today regarding my incorrect use of the word “brand.” He especially brought attention to how I’ve been using the term “personal branding” wrongly, for according to his experience a brand is not a person, but an inanimate object. And as it turns out he’s right. Here’s the definition of “brand” from netlingo.com
brand
A logo, corporate image, or distinct product or service identity that can become firmly rooted in the public’s mind. Its purpose is to establish a meaningful, differentiated presence that will attract and retain loyal customers.
To drive it a bit more home, here are some illustrations for you.
Are You One of These Products?
Products are Individual Brands
Bleach and Clorox Are Co-Brands
*An Author is Not a Product, But His Books Are
So if brands are products, like the three to the left. Then what do people have, if not personal brands?
It was explained to me that people have reputations. They have personality. They have interests, desires, ambition, talents, integrity and passions.
They are not objects like Q-tips, or Valvoline Oil or bread crumbs or WordPress Themes.
However, as the definition states above, the purpose of brands are to attract and retain loyal customers. Couldn’t the same be true for individuals?
Let’s look at the case of real estate executives for they are a perfect example. Realtors often work for a firm, (i.e., First Team Real Estate), but they act as individuals and are chosen by consumers for a variety of reasons. They pick up clients via referrals, online presence, personality and/or knowledge of the area. Like branded products, “trust” plays a major part of their sales. (BTW-Trust is important for every professional by the way.) So if there are branded products that we “trust” couldn’t we say the same for people that they have “trusted” brands as well? Or is it more correct to say that you “trust” a person’s reputation instead?
I thought this topic was delicious food for thought and one I’d love to hear your opinion on…Are We Brands or Not?
Do tell.
*(I recently attended a speaking engagement featuring super savvy and smart social business consultant Gary Vaynerchuk, hence, the reason why I used his new book “The Thank You Economy” as an example of a brand product. This was my way of giving him a nod and a way to promote his efforts. I’m a big fan and will blog about my him in upcoming posts.)
Honey, Hurry and Come Watch The Computer, The President is Speaking.
At 1:45 PM PT on Wednesday, April 20, I will be home sitting in front of my computer screen watching Facebook. My three favorite passions will all be in play with this event: I’ll be watching TV, engaging with Facebook and hearing President Obama live.
This is absolutely crazy! To think that a college student started up this multi-billion dollar Facebook company and has turned it from primarily being a social network to a content provider. I love it.
President Obama’s former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was rumored to be in play for a position at Facebook. Hmmm. I wonder if he had any part in this webcast? My gut thinks he did.
The Wall Street Journal seems to think that President Obama is using this platform to engage with the younger voting community. And that may be true since its time to start thinking about his re-election. This live event will definitely reach a younger demographic on a platform they prefer.
The reason why I think this is a fabulous idea as a PR pro is the fact that is sends a signal that Facebook is now mainstream. I am astonished that I still rub against folks who think Facebook is a fad. This just proves its not.
I’m sure if this live streaming event goes well, Facebook will be receiving pitches from other news makers desiring promotion on the Facebook platform. It could soon become a “bonafide” news channel! Unbelievable.
WILL FACEBOOK REPLACE TV SETS?
It’s just the start of many things to come via Facebook and I for one am anxious to see how the video will look. Will there be annoying lags? Will the audio drop?
Knowing the perfectionism that Facebook has shown us thus far, I would gander to think its going to be fine and remarkable.
Kudos to the White House press reps for suggesting it and for Mark Zuckerberg for making it happen.
Will you be tuning in as well? If so, what do you think about it?
Nice conference freebie for the Real Estate market
I wanted to briefly comment on the importance of choosing the perfect tchotchkes for industry conventions. Selecting the right bauble to represent your brand is crucial for it is by these knickknacks that they will remember you — that is if the product is one that is useful or kitschy.
At today’s real estate conference, there were the usual tchotchkes present – the lip balm, key chains, grocery bag, pens and flash drives. And of course, the branded water.
One trinket that stood out was the tape measure featured in this blog. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate handed them out to those who stopped by their table. The tape measure is useful to Realtors and the fact that they made them to connect easily to your belt loop made it impressive.
I know tape measures have been made at nauseum in this field, but who doesn’t need one. It’s a staple of every household. And it was perfect match for the brand Better Homes and Gardens.
Attending the Agent Reboot OC conference I was extremely impressed to learn about how the global home improvement retailer Lowe’s offers a specific program for Realtors. Lowe’s has partnered with National Association of Realtors to provide free marketing tools and exclusive access to offers on Lowe’s products.
For those Realtors who sign up for the program, they receive a 5 percent discount on Lowe’s gift cards, as well exclusive offers and access to Lowe’s Commercial options.
This program is absolutely brilliant on behalf of Lowe’s. I remember when I bought my home I received many valuable coupons from local retailers. I needed to buy food and Von’s offered a discount. I needed to buy hardware and Lowe’s gave me money off my purchase. I loved those discounts!
The Lowe’s program provides turnkey solutions for Realtors to connect with clients. And who doesn’t love that. That’s good business.
Handwriting on the Wall Proved to be Great Customer Service
Today’s post is about a great customer service example that I experienced just yesterday. As it was Sunday, my normal routine is to wake up and promptly go to church. I did that even though I was bit sleepy from coming home from curling the night before at 2:30 AM…I was sort of three-quarters alert. However, I quickly woke up during the service when Pastor Bill Ankerberg told us that he was letting us out early to go write on the walls of the new entry! My own mom never allowed me to do that!
THE POWER OF SHARING
My church, Whittier Area Community Church, is finishing up a three-year building project in a month or so. The last phase is the construction of our entry way. This area has been walled up since Christmas so this was the first time we could walk in the space. Over this week the walls will be painted and the floor carpeted, so our messages will be hidden from site. I guess you could say this is a new way to look at a time capsule.
But, to me, this was a wonderful example of customer service and marketing creativity. I thought it was absolutely brilliant. What a genius way for us, the congregation, to become invested in the building in a personal way. To have the ability to put our mark on this landmark and tell our friends and family about it for years to come – this experience can’t be replaced.
AN EVERLASTING MARK
Our marks are there literally until the walls come down.
For the mere cost of purchasing a few black Sharpies, over 3,000 people became connected with a project that will potentially last their lifetime. I wish I could show you the images and the words written. They were as diverse as the authors. Kids, teens, young adults and seniors all took part. There were cute “child-like” drawings, beautiful images of crosses from true artists, signatures with dates, and inspiring words.
The Author Cementing Her Words in this Interactive Marketing Experience
This opportunity was just too good to pass up. So I had to put my words to the ground.
I chose to write my words at a spot where people will enter and exit. And what did I say?
I didn’t want to use my words, but God’s. I knew His words are everlasting and well, mine don’t measure up in that same regard.
I left behind this thought.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore. Ps 121: 7-8
What a wonderful way to extend The Experience.
Perhaps you can apply this idea to something you are building.
I know this post is going to upset a few of the men out there and some readers may label me a prude. But, I’m taking a risk and saying it. Don’t you think that some of women’s dance costumes on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” are a bit too risque for prime time viewing? I do.
“SWEET FANCY MOSES”
As I watched the season opener of “Dancing with the Stars” last Monday night, I noticed a few of the women’s costumes were a bit more revealing than usual. Not all of the costumes were that way, most were fine and age appropriate for the respective dancer. But, when I saw what they had Chelsie Hightower dressed in….the only response I had was what George and Jerry exclaimed when they watched Elaine’swacky dance in the Seinfeld episode “The Little Kicks”….Sweet Fancy Moses! Ms. Hightower’s outfit was barely a dress and was probably made out of less than a half-a-yard of shimmery fabric! Take a look. The only spot of fabric on her backside was a 12 inch area of cloth covering her bootie. To view this dress in action click on video link: Dancing With The Stars Relive the Opener
Sweet Fancy Moses - Chelsie's Dress is Short and Missing its Back Side
Yes, Ms. Hightower is beautiful and physically fit and can wear that costume well. But, that’s not the point. I mean – isn’t the show about dancing and not about selling something else. If I was a male fan of the show, I think one of the reasons I would enjoy watching it is to see the scantily clad women! Is this really necessary ABC?
INAPPROPRIATE OR APPROPRIATE?
I know that women dress in barely there bikinis when at the beach or pool. I also am aware of some of the outfits that gals wear to the gym look like underwear. The public is exposed to revealing clothing all the time and there’s no way to control it. But, ABC is a corporation that can control its decency. I mean if a someone wears a logo on clothing that is not a sponsor of the show, then we see black duct tape put over that logo. And sometimes, low cleavage is blurred in live programming…but, on this show I sometimes wonder about the outfits.
Season 11 contestant Audrina Partridge Did In Fact Wear A Bikini on the Show
Well, I guess that statement isn’t 100 percent true. I don’t wonder about the outfits. I know perfectly well about how they cast the show. They cast the “older” favorites, the models, the younger sensations, the athletes and yes, handsome hunks too. They cast every demo. And to be fair, they do at times dress the young, fit gals in less revealing wardrobes, especially when they perform dances like the waltz.
I’d love to hear what you think? Your turn to discuss the wardrobe on Dancing with the Stars. Bring on the conversation.
One Word Posted on the Internet Can Ruin Your Reputation and Business - Chrysler Fires Its Outside Social Media Firm
A couple of days ago I wrote about corporate apologies and the need for them to be sincere, uncorporate-like and honest. And now 24 hours later, I’ve got a real-life example to share with you ripped straight from USA Today’s headlines. USA Today Reporter Chris Woodyard has been covering Chrysler Motor Corporation’s sticky situation with its outside social media firm, New Media Strategies (NMS). Apparently, Chrysler hired NMS to handle its official ChryslerAutos Twitter account. Things were fine until earlier this week when an account manager from NMS tweeted out a comment from that respective Twitter account that included the “F” word.
ONE WORD CAN TAKE DOWN YOUR REPUTATION
Here’s the actual tweet.
I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to (expletive deleted) drive.
Chrysler sent out an apology immediately. NMS apologized as well and promptly terminated the employee. However, that was still not good enough for Chrysler. Today, Chrysler fired New Media Strategies. From one single tweet, that firm lost a major account. That’s why I harp on this so much – you always need to be careful of every word you post on the Internet!
You might think Chrysler’s action was a bit severe. But, I don’t in the least. I believe their decision was correct. Chrysler “trusted” its brand with this outside firm and they did not provide proper care.
WHO’S ON YOUR ACCOUNT
The lessons in this case study are two-fold.
1) If you are a social media agency that is hired by clients, then you are solely responsible for every word, phrase, design, tweet and Facebook contest that you provide. You are responsible for oversight, editing, political correctness – everything. It’s not the job of the client to proofread and review your work. They are trusting you with their brand and usually paying you handsomely for it.
2) If you are a company hiring a social media agency, then you are responsible to thoroughly check out the firm and each person who will be assigned to your account. Request work samples from each rep on your account and try to have a meeting to personally meet each person. You can tell a lot from how a person talks and presents themselves to determine how they will act online. Know who you are trusting your brand with…do your homework.
New Media Strategies regrets this unfortunate incident. It certainly doesn’t accurately reflect the overall high-quality work we have produced for Chrysler. We respect their decision and will work with them to ensure an effective transition of this business going forward.— Pete Snyder, CEO, New Media Strategies
This to me sounds like the statement did get passed through the legal approval mill. It’s a typical corporate response and since NMS is a social media agency, I would have thought they would have taken a more personal stance with this issue. For clearly, the onus is on them and not on Chrysler. I felt the statement made by Mr. Snyder was a non-apology and it did not in any way take the blame for the incident. So I decided to take a stab at writing a version that I felt would have been more appropriate.
Here’s what I would have suggested if I handled the PR for NMS.
New Media Strategies is sorry for the unfortunate incident that portrayed Chrysler’s brand in an unfavorable light. It was never our intention to represent Chrysler’s stellar reputation in this manner and apologize for any offense this incident may have caused the company and its customers. We respect their decision and will work with them to ensure an easy transition of this business going forward. This was an isolated incident and one that is not indicative of the quality of work NMS provides its clients. We have enjoyed working with Chrysler to promote its services through social media and hope to join forces with them again in the future.
This is a great case study for all of us – business owners, social media experts, marketers, publicists and communicators. Be careful about who are you trusting your brand with. Is it in good hands?
