positive disruption by: Tom Martin | New Orleans based Social Media Consultant

I Quit

Have you ever felt like quitting? Past your limits? When you just don't have any more bandwidth, can't work any harder and yet still it's not happening for you? Maybe you're running a small sandwich shop or a new restaurant or a carpet cleaning company. Or maybe you're social media consultant, aspiring speaker or run an ad agency? ;-)) Yes I too wake up often with that feeling. We all do.

It's tough because all around us we see pictures and stories of folks that are making it. And while the vast majority certainly earned it, the story that really gets you down is when you see the person who really isn't deserving -- and there are a good bit of those.

So what do you do? How do you push through until your day in the sun comes? Simple actually.

When you feel like saying "I quit" -- don't.

Do whatever you need to do -- take a run, have a drink or turn on the tunes really loud... but snap that funk and get your ass back in the game. Work harder, smarter and, if necessary, longer because luck finds he who earns it.

Oh and if you're wondering why I chose the picture of Eminem -- it's because when I feel like saying I quit -- I listen to Till I Collapse... sort of my "get off your ass Tom" anthem. Who knew I'd ever find inspiration in rap but seriously, good stuff.

So what about you? What do you do to push through abyss and find the other side? Let us know.

photo by ckaroli

What to look for when hiring a social media manager

While at the Social South Conference this weekend I had the opportunity to co-host a round table discussion with @ScottSchablow and @Griner (David Griner) where the discussion focused on "Building your social media team."

Personally I find hiring a social media manager (for lack of a better term) the single hardest hire in an agency. The position requires a great depth and breadth of digital knowledge (platforms/customs/etc) which is hard to find.

Making it harder, the person has to know marketing strategy. I don't mean the textbook stuff they taught us in college, I mean good honest to God marketing strategy. They have to be able to link what they are doing in the social media arena to achieving business goals, which don't usually include "discussion." They have to understand Facebook isn't a strategy it's a tactic. They have to understand that while it's lots of fun to create and manage that Twitter hashtag the brand's fans love -- marketing is about building more than love and fun discussions. Marketing is about selling more stuff. As I think someone mentioned during the round table, CEO's don't care about conversation. They care about cash.

So once you find these folks, you have to weed out anyone who isn't a self-starter and works well unsupervised. You see, social media networks don't start at 9am and close at 5pm. Consumers are actually really active after hours when they're sitting on their sofa telling their friends about their day or worse, bitching about how your product failed them that day. And when it is time to talk to them, you kind of need to do it now versus "running it up the ladder" to see what your boss thinks you should do.

Still have any candidates left? Good. Now probe to find out their curiosity level. We all agreed that a good social media manager has to possess natural curiosity. They have to want to always be learning. This is important because the social media platforms, technologies and "rules" are changing all the time. It is a space that demands constant education and re-education of it's participants. So the perfect social media manager has to like homework.

Ok, so now you are down to a handful of top prospects who meet all of the requirements above. This is where the conversation got interesting. There were a number of views on this point, so I hope you'll add yours in the comment section.

Some felt that if you had the items above you were fine. But I feel one more characteristic is essential. Pure, natural interest for the subject matter. If I'm Coleman camping products, and I'm hiring a social media manager, I need a camper. Someone who is passionate about camping, camping products and talking about camping and camping products. If I'm a bourbon brand, I need a bourbon drinker. And not just a bourbon drinker a bourbon geek. Someone who knows a thing or two about distillation and barrel aging and can really talk the talk because unlike Vodka for instance, serious bourbon drinkers are very much about the science behind the product.

I feel you have to have a person who is passionate about the brand and category because they're going to spend a whole lot of time talking about the category and creating and sharing content about the category. And anyone who blogs regularly knows, coming up with new content day in and day out is very, very hard. Without a passion to create the content, I just don't think you can stick with it or the quality of your content will drop. Neither of which is good.

Many in the room felt that reporters where not only a perfect match for a social media gig (great content producers, curious, good at getting up to speed on new topics, etc). I'm not exactly sure I agree as I've met many a reporter that while being great at writing, didn't possess all of the requirements above. But even if you agree that reporters are the natural talent pool to fish in, remember this, reporters tend to specialize. I think this is because the realize that they need to really care about a topic to be a good reporter of said topic, but I've never worked in a newsroom so I might be off base here... but then that is what the comments section is for so let me know.

But in closing, even if you find someone who fulfills all of the requirements above -- there are two more requirements (one more if you're hiring client side) that must be fulfilled.

When I hire a social media manager they have to fit our culture at Zehnder. Our founder was pretty smart when he based our company on strong cultural norms. As we say, some folks are either Zehnder people or they aren't. And trust me, when we hire one that isn't -- well let's just say it's painful.

But even if they're a good fit at Zehnder, I also have to make sure they're a good cultural fit for the brand and with the brand's company culture. You see, for an agency side social media manager to be effective and actually represent the brand on behalf of the brand, they have to have total access to the brand. That means they not only have the brand manager on speed dial, they have the head of merchandising, distribution and maybe even the inventor/founder of the brand. They need this because they will encounter situations where a quick response is required and they can't simply go to the brand manager and have that person seek out the appropriate person internally to answer the question. It takes too long and much is lost in translation. So good agency side social media managers are in essence an extension of the client's brand management team and thus must fit that culture too.

So now you can see why I think hiring a social media manager is so darn hard. What about you? Do you agree with the points? Did I forget a few? What do you look for? Let me know won't you?

Thanks to David Griner for the photo

Is your brand a destination or a convenience?

There is a great little coffee/sandwich shop in the heart of Lakeview (New Orleans) called Nola Beans.

When Nola Beans first opened I made a special attempt to frequent it because it was started by a bunch of friends of mine and I wanted to do what I could to help make them a success. But then a funny thing happened... I discovered their Egg Salad sandwich. It is fantastic. Better than fantastic, it might be the best I've ever had. And yes, I'm a big fan of the egg salad. But that isn't the point of this post.

The point is: that sandwich and the wonderful atmosphere of Nola Beans has made the shop a destination for me. There are a good number of great sandwich shops or coffee houses between my house and Nola Beans but yet I pass them up to go to Nola Beans. Why? Because I crave that sandwich. BTW - if you're ever in NOLA, their chicken salad is the bomb too.

If I'm craving Lebanese Tea, I head over to Mona's and if I want a stiff drink, I hit New City Grille. In each case, these establishments have gone from "convenient" to "destination" in my mind. I pass up their competition to get to them. In fact there is a bar I can walk to from my house that I bypass in favor of New City. Drinks are cheaper but not as good and it's smoke filled. But man, is it convenient. So don't be fooled.. it isn't because these establishments are the cheapest or most convenient that make me frequent them. Hell the price of a  drink at New City is as stiff as the drink itself. But I know that for my money I'll get a great drink, in a nice smokeless atmosphere. So in my mind, New City Grille has become my destination of choice when I'm looking for a good drink with no smoke.

Which brings me to the point of this post: Being a destination is important. It gives you a point of difference but more importantly it gives you a marketing angle that isn't price or location dependent -- the hallmarks of commodity establishment advertising. Destinations give consumers a reason to form a relationship with them and more importantly something to talk about with their friends. Kind of like I'm doing with you right now.

So what are you? Why do your customers frequent you? Is it because you're a destination or because your just convenient?

Where in the world is Tom Martin

One of the greatest things about doing the public speaking gig is the opportunity to visit places you might not otherwise visit and meet people you probably wouldn't meet. And luckily for me, I'm about to get a bunch of both. If you find that I'm going to be near you, I hope you'll stop by the event and most certainly say hello.

• August 20 - Jennings, LA:    LACCE Fall Conference where I'll talk about how Chambers can use SocMe to increase membership and more importantly, increase the ROI of their member's membership.
• August 21 - Shreveport, LA: Keep Louisiana Beautiful State Conference where I'll focus on how non-profits working to keep our great state litter free can use Twitter and Facebook to grow and manage their member base as well as increase donations. 
• August 22 - Birmingham, AL:   Social South Conference where I'm going to talk about how you can use Social Media, Twitter in particular, to change brand perception and how this approach is especially valuable for brands that have historical negative associations that they'd like to change. BTW, if you haven't yet, you should register for this conference. You can click on the registration widget on my sidebar and if you use NOLA as your promo code you'll save $30. Yes, you are free to use that savings to buy me a beer when we meet ;-) and yes, it is an affiliate link so of course, I'll buy you one back.
• August 26 - Dallas, TX:  The League of Extraordinary Marketers August event where I'll be showing how One Man, and iPhone and Twitter changed the brand perception of Mardi Gras. This is a pretty cool group of folks and if you're a Dallas based person, you should check them out.
• September 16 - Houston, TX: The Houston AAF September Luncheon where I'm going to do a shortened form of my Get the 411 on Social Media which we just did here in NOLA last week to over 200 people in the audience. So far the reviews are good so we'll see what you Texans think. 
• September 23 - New Orleans, LA:  I get to stay home for this one. I'll be talking general Social Media with the NFI Future Leaders group who is holding their meeting here in New Orleans.
• October 20 - Omaha, NE (tentative) where I've been asked by the Omaha Chapter of the AMA to talk about how marketers can and should blend online social media efforts with more traditional offline advertising efforts. I'm truly stoked about this one because not many conferences want to have this discussion but I'm convinced it is one that needs having. 
• November 4 - Des Moines, IA where the Iowa Chapter of the AMA has asked me to discuss creating Brand Passion. This is one of my favorite talks because in my estimation, more brands should be trying to do this and of course, brand passion and social media play well together.

Rumor has it I'm also going to do a piece at the first TribeCon - Community Conference here in New Orleans, which just so happens to fall around VooDoo Fest (darn). More on that as details finalize but after having talked with the organizers Chris Schultz and Tiffany Starnes, I think you might want to leave your last weekend in October open. Sounds like some really good stuff. 

And lastly, as long as we're talking speaking gigs, I've got a proposal into SXSW for the 2010 SXSW Interactive Conference that I think will be really cool. Scott Monty of Ford, Jackie Danicki of Qik, Dan Patterson of ABC News have all agreed to join me to discuss and debate if advertising or virtual experiences delivered via social media channels is more effective in changing brand perception. I think it will be one of the more interesting and advanced panels as we won't be just talking the same old stuff you hear at every Social Media conference. Instead, we'll be using real-life examples of advertisers and media to explore how this new dynamic may fundamentally alter the ad agency and media world. Should be cool. You can vote it up by going to http://budurl.com/SXSWPanel and if you could, tell a friend or 10,000. How this thing does on the vote picker supposedly influences whether or not SXSW will put it on the schedule.

And I almost forgot. If you're looking for a dynamic, fun and educational speaker for your next corporate event, conference or trade group meeting, feel free to check out my past work, read reviews, and contact me for availabilities and fees. 

As always, thanks for stopping by and if you're going to be in any of these towns when I am, let me know. I'm always up for meeting new people.

photo by djwhelan

You're Only As Good As Your Last Tweet

Ok...so I'm an auto follower, which means I use SocialToo to simply auto follow back anyone that follows me. I do it because it's easy and I'm busy. Instead of manually processing 50 or so new followers each day, I just go into my Twitter account once a week and weed out the DRUTs (special props and a free NOLA gift to the first person who actually knows what a DRUT is and posts via comments).

It wasn't my idea.. Chris Brogan shared it with me. The idea is it is easier to weed out the DRUTs than to manually process all the legitimate requests to follow back. And you know what, for the most part it works. I spend 20 or so minutes once a week to weed out obvious spammers like the one above, and I'm rewarded with access to lots of really smart peeps who share a wealth of great information, links and ideas.

But as I sat here tonight weeding my garden, a thought occurred to me. If you're following folks like me that use auto follow and then rely on Twitter's new Follower List Interface,

 

to decide whether we want to unfollow you because you're a DRUT, well you are only as good as your last tweet. If you look at the image above, ask yourself if you'd unfollow any of these folks. Would you click through to see more of their tweets or does their last tweet suggest them worthy of your divided attention?

I know some have remarked that they wish Twitter showed bio versus last tweet info in this listing (yours truly amongst them) but in some cases I think maybe the boys at Twitter got it right. By listing your last tweet they have upped the ante. Send up a worthless tweet and you might just find yourself being unfollowed.

Not a bad idea I think? What about you? What do you think about the Twitter listing format, auto following vs. manual follow, and such? Share your thoughts. Make us all smarter. Oh yes, and remember, special NOLA gift for the first person who knows what a DRUT is.

Twitter's Bionic Ear

I'm always being asked "what's so special about Twitter? I just don't get it." Well for all of you thinking that or who have asked me, look over there to the left. She was the original Twitter.

One of the things I always loved about Wonder Woman (besides the cool costume) was her bionic ear. She could hear what other people were saying from I don't know, like miles away. This gave her a huge advantage over everyone else. Twitter gives you and me that same bionic ear, but only if we know how to use it properly.

Twitter is kind of like going to the world's biggest networking event and having that bionic ear. You can hear the folks immediately around you but you also can hear all the folks in the room. 

Even better, it's considered polite to jump into multiple conversations mid-thread and if that causes you to take away partial attention from the convo you're in, it's ok. No one gets pissy with you.

It's this random discover opportunity that gives Twitter it's big value IMHO. Every day I find some little nugget, quite often from someone that I don't usually interact with but for whatever reason, Twitter's bionic ear caught their convo and thanks to TweetDeck, pushed it to my not so bionic ear.

Now the problem with a bionic ear, and as I recall Wonder Woman had this issue, you have to calibrate it. Being able to hear everyone is just as bad as hearing no one. You simply cannot process it all and if you try you'll go crazy. So do yourself a favor, if you really want to experience the power of Twitter, get one of the many good Twitter clients like TweetDeck or Seesmic that let you begin to filter conversations and maintain constant searches (that bionic ear) for keywords that folks talking about your interests will likely use in a tweet. That way, you get to network with your good friends while simultaneously scanning for nuggets of interest. If you need to see how to do this, visit this post.

Anyone got thoughts on the Bionic Ear theory?

How much is knowledge worth?

Last week I stopped by a bookstore and picked up a couple of books that I haven't read yet but have been highly recommended. Final tally for two books: $49.78.

I subscribe to a number of magazines and newspapers that I read regularly to stay abreast of what's going on in the world or marketing. Finally tally of yearly subscriptions: $278.00

And then there is the time I spend listening, reading and watching a host of blogs, white papers, video webinars, etc. Final tally for that: $0 but then there is the value of my time, which is huge.

Now I'm not a big conference guy. Not that I don't think they have value, but with a wife, four kids and a demanding job, conferences are usually a luxury I can't afford (time not money) to take advantage of.. unless of course I'm speaking, in which case I make the time ;-). 

All of this to say, I've been thinking what is knowledge worth? Both in terms of acquisition of knowledge but maybe more importantly in the selling of knowledge, which is kind of what many of us do. And I guess along those lines, once you figure out how much your knowledge is worth, then how do you go about charging for that?

Anyone got an opinion on this stuff? Because I'd sure like to hear it.

photo by h.koppdelaney

Can You Make People Buy?

We're living in an interesting economic time. For most of us, prosperity has been the norm versus the exception. Even during the dot-com bust, the economy was generally Ok, with the exception of tech hot spots like San Fran and Austin. After 9/11, New York City and other tourism dominant cities/industries were on the ropes but industrial sector towns fared Ok (to the best of my memory). And here in New Orleans, the years after Katrina were difficult but cities like Dallas and Houston were fine. Because in each case, the whole of the economy was basically sound and therefore, consumers simply shifted spend from one category like travel (post 9/11) to other categories. Or in the case of Katrina, they just shifted spend from cities like New Orleans to say, Dallas or Las Vegas (in the meetings market).

But today, it seems all categories are losing sales. Hotels can't sell rooms. Airlines can't sell tickets. Auto makers can't sell cars. Computer companies are slashing prices to move product. Restaurants are limiting menus or electing to forgo serving lunch. Even professional service firms like ad agencies, law firms and such are finding it difficult to gain new buyers (clients). Everyone just seems stuck in a big, giant holding pattern. And I don't think it is so much that they can't buy but that they just don't.

Which begs the question, can you really make people buy? Can I make a client who is happy with their current agency award a project or the whole account to our firm? Can a retailer convince me to buy because they decide to advertise a promotion? Are folks not booking hotel rooms because hotels aren't advertising enough? In other words, the thought I think I'm struggling with is can you sell someone on the idea of buying what you're selling or.... is the trick to simply help folks make a buying decision?

Should you lie in wait... preparing your fields for rain and making sure you're open to the clues that signal a willingness to buy? Should you increase the pressure or just watch the signals and read and react? Or do you go a completely new route and add new services, extend into new categories, or talk to new customer bases? In other words, should you try and 'make it happen' or as my friend Jim Mitchem put it in his blog, 'get out of the way and let it happen'?

I'm guessing, based on conversations I've had with colleagues, clients and friends that I'm not the only one struggling with this dilemma. Are you? If so, care to share how are you solving it? Come on... we're all ears.

photo by Eleaf

Try Playing Hard To Get

Girls usually figure this out long before boys. Human nature is we want what we can't have or at least what takes a bit of work to get. So young girls don't chase the boy of their dreams, they just put themselves out there, make themselves look desirable and wait.

And this morning, I'm thinking we could all learn a thing or two from those girls. Brands today are scared and I dare say a tad desperate. Consumers sense it, feel it and are responding to it -- or not as it may be. We've trained consumers to wait for a deal during hard times. Retailers have used "going out of business" or "inventory reduction" sales for years. And in doing so, they've trained the consumer what to look for and shown the consumer what to do and how to do it -- if they want a great deal. Let's face it, who hasn't waited till December 31 to buy a car???

But over the last 6 months or so, it seems to have gotten worse. Yes the economy is down and that makes sense but it's more than that I fear. Companies have lost that bit of basic sense that every 16 year old girl knows without being told.

I'm not sure I have the total answer but here is a starter. So this is probably more of a quest for thoughts than a finished post -- so y'all feel free to fill in the rest.

• Retailers: Maybe stop shouting that everything is on sale at crazy discounts like 60, 70 and even 80% off. Instead, maybe whisper that to your most loyal customers online and offline. Tell them it's ok if they let their best friends in on the deal -- after all, you do need to clear out some of this older inventory. Create a special room or a section of your store and put the really good deals in there. Then let the natural human desire to share "I know something you don't" take over.
• Everyone: What about putting up a velvet rope: create experiences or opportunities that aren't open to just everyone. Instead of screaming, hey everyone come on down, take a bit of time and get under the skin of your consumers. Then, based on their needs and desires, create an experience, service, product or just an event that appeals directly to them -- then invite them. And again, let them invite a friend or two. A perfect example is Home Depot's little Saturday morning workshops for kids. In today's tough economy, it's harder for parents to find things (that don't cost money) for their kids to do on a Saturday morning. So Home Depot has created (whether they know it or not) a great service for working parents but the question is -- are they leveraging it as a true marketing tool??? Restaurants with special tasting menu dinners do the same thing. They email it out to their past guest database but don't bother advertising it to the general market. It's a little thank you to guests for giving the restaurant permission to talk to them via email. Nice.
• Everyone: Create value packages versus discounts. Rooms to Go does this well. They realized that most of us aren't interior decorators and rather than make you figure out how to combine furniture, art and tables to create a pleasing room, they do it for you... right down to the nick nacks that sit on the table. So they sell me a solution. Instead of screaming discounts, they offer innovative financing. I think they're on the right track. 
• Smaller mom & pops: I love finding smaller shops with cool locally produced items but man is it hard. With four kids, a wife and a demanding job, I just don't have the time to stroll Magazine Street discovering those little shops, restaurant, grocery, etc., anymore. How I wish they'd embrace the Internet and build a community that helped me to discover them more easily. Maybe even push their offerings to me, let me buy it online and pick it up at their place. We (Zehnder) actually tried to create a little one last year called NolaDeals. We even put it on Twitter ;-) The revenue model was all wrong, and we focused a bit too much the "deals" side of the house, so we're working on changing that, but the basic premise -- "hiring someone to discover/curate these great local establishments for you" is dead on IMHO. We'll see if it catches fire. [Nola peeps, would love to hear your thoughts]

What else can companies do today? How can they play hard to get without going out of business? I'm sure there are plenty of things I'm missing here? Let me know what you'd tell a company that came to you and asked for advice.

photo by Christian E. Peterson

Why 9-5 Must Die

Companies need to get with it and lose this silly focus on office hours. When the majority of American's (or worldwide for that matter) made their living building things in factories -- 9-5 made sense. But in today's knowledge based economy, it is an antiquated thought that I believe stifles the most creative of workers.

I'm sitting here at 11:21pm writing this. Why? Because the thought just hit me. If I try and wait till morning, I'll forget it and this post will never appear. And probably because no one is walking in my office (hard to do when I'm at home he he), emailing me, calling me, IM'ing me -- you get the picture. I can sit and think. Focus. An hour ago, I was doing the same thing -- only it wasn't a blog post it was a big client strategy idea (well in my opinion, we'll see what the client thinks).

Funny thing is, I'm at my most creative place late at night. Later the better. But that's hard to do because I'm expected (like most folks) to arrive at a designated place of business at a designated time. (which makes it harder to work across time zones) Hard to do when you've been up to the wee hours writing, thinking or researching. To be clear - for some folks, I think office hours are necessary. I've known many people in my career that wouldn't work at home or after hours if their life depended on it. That just wasn't their gig -- they work at work and the play at home. That's cool. But for lots of really smart folks that I know the 9-5 gig limits versus expands the impact they can have on their employer. It forces them into an unnatural flow.

More companies should embrace fluid scheduling. Let highly productive employees schedule their lives in 24 versus 8 hour increments. It decreases stress, allows them to better balance their lives and frankly, will make them happier. And for employers, it all but assures highly productive, happy employees that won't want to leave.

The currency of today is ideas. Successful companies (especially marcom oriented companies) will live and die on the backs of their employees ideas, innovations and ability to see around the corner before the competition. So if an employee's brain is most active at 1am, why would you want to temper that? You're paying them to think. So wouldn't it make sense to figure out how to enhance versus detract from that ability?

Yes, I know there needs to be some kind of office hours. Great marketing is seldom done in silo. You need collaboration and not everyone is up for a Skype call at 2am...but seriously, I'm not talking about having vampires on the payroll. What I'm suggesting is to figure out when your employees are most productive and then make sure they're working at that time of day -- even if that time of day fluctuates (within reason).

The other major argument against this POV is that it breeds resentment. Why? Because certain folks can work in a fluid environment and certain folks can't. Employers don't want to have to tell the latter that they don't get this "benefit" because that's a hard conversation and likely, the person on the other end will get pissed. But that's lowest common denominator HR if you ask me. Would you rather piss off the person who you actually have to monitor to ensure work product or the person who can't help but create work product?

I don't know... late night ramblings or important point-of-view worthy of discourse? Only you can decide... that's what the comment section is for... what say you peeps?

Photo by CC Chapman