7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers- Tim Walker

Ok, Interview #5 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Tim Walker is obviously a social media guy, but when he’s not engaging with others online, he’s a frequent contributor to Big Papelbon, a blog about Boston sports teams and some passionate sports fans.

About Tim
Tim helps Hoover’s, which has been doing business online since 1994, develop its use of social media tools and its presence on popular social media platforms.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I’ll list two: First, I’ve been a writer my whole life. I edited my high school newspaper, I’ve freelanced hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, and I wrote my own blog for years before I started blogging or tweeting for Hoover’s. The short of it: I already had a ton of experience in communicating in print before I started doing it on behalf of the company.

Second, I genuinely like people, and by extension I love talking with people. My dad was a pastor, and I grew up with a mindset that any stranger is potentially a friend you just haven’t met yet. I think that mindset helps me as I constantly meet new people (online via Twitter, in person at events, etc.) who might find value in what Hoover’s does.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
Check my communication channels — especially e-mail and Twitter — to see what’s come in overnight.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
A confession: I’m not nearly as effective as I’d like to be. (Note that I try to follow Peter Drucker’s wisdom about pursuing *effectiveness* ahead of *efficiency*.) That said, I’ve developed some good habits to prevent cognitive overload in my day. Two worth mentioning in particular:
A. I keep my inboxes light.
B. When I’m at my best, I do a good job of tackling just one thing at a time (no multitasking!), and I do them in an order that makes sense based on my top priorities.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
“Management” by Peter Drucker.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
A. The stat spreadsheet on my laptop — by which I track blog posts, inbox load, and other key drivers that affect my mindset and performance.
B. Healthy snacks and a bag of workout clothes. (Okay, the bag is on the floor *under* the desk.)
C. A robust suite of Twitter tools, including Tweetdeck, CoTweet, Seesmic, TwitterBerry, and TweepSearch.

6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
At long last I will shed the stack of papers and files that I carry around like Linus’s blanket.

7. Habit you’d like to form for 2010
More writing. For as much as I write, it’s still not enough. Throughout my career, it’s always been true: the more I write, the more success I have. (To that end, if anybody needs a byline written . . . )

NOTE- for those who want to follow along in the Twitter conversation, and be updated when we post new entries use the #sm7habits hashtag