All Entries Tagged With: "community"
7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers – Diane Hessan
It’s people like Diane Hessan who make me look forward to opening up my computer, firing up Twitter, and listening to her stream of of consciousness. She’s the best of the best when you think of CEO’s on Twitter. I’m honored to call her a friend, a mentor and one of my favorites in the ongoing “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” Series. Thanks Diane!
About Diane
I am CEO of Communispace. We help many of the world’s most admired companies listen to, and get insights from, their customers — by building and managing online communities. We have about 100 clients and over 250 employees.
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I love to laugh.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
I hang out at the coffee machine with employees and find out what they are working on that excites them – because it inspires me.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I have the best executive assistant in Boston. He is patient and super smart, and he anticipates every possible thing that could go wrong with my day.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
First, my 12th grade physics book Concepts like momentum, critical mass, vectors, energy, and force are key to building a growing and profitable company.
Secondly, Customer-Centered Growth, which I co-authored in 1995, because it was an enormous intellectual challenge for an extrovert like me.
Thirdly, In Search of Excellence, written by one of my mentors, Tom Peters, which first raised the notion that some companies are intentionally more amazing than the rest of the pack.
5. 3 things on your desk right now/3 things you can’t live without
My blackberry
my laptop,
and my Red Sox Trivia Calendar (The record for the most strikeouts in a single season is Pedro Martinez in 1999).
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
When I start our 8:30 a.m. bimonthly all-staff meetings, I say “Good Morning Everyone!”, which really bothers our employees in Europe and Australia.
7. Habit you want to form for 2010.
I want to pick up the phone at least 3 times a week, call a client, and tell them how much we value their confidence in us. I also need to take more vitamins.
7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers- Connie Bensen
Back to the continuing “7 Habits” series with Connie Bensen. I first “met” Connie Christmas Day (or thereabouts) about two years ago when testing out Skype. Social Media waits for no-one, right? We struck up a conversation online, and have since stayed connected, (or have tried to!) through Twitter. Without further ado, Ms. Connie Bensen.
About Connie
I’m the Director of Social Media & Community Strategy at Alterian. I work under corporate marketing and have two focus areas: the social media strategy at Alterian & also providing marketing support for SM2 our social media monitoring tool.
1. What one trait or *habit* got you to where you are today?
Investing many hours in learning and giving back to others.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
My first item is to read email because I need to get centered for the day. Now that our parent office is in the UK their day is half over when I start mine, so I frequently start my week on Sunday evening.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I couldn’t live without Evernote. It’s amazing (and free!). It synchs across the cloud & my lists and information is always available no matter what computer I’m working on.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz rates very high.
5. 3 things on your desk right now /3 things you can’t live without
a mouse (I can’t use a laptop without one)
pen & paper
on my desktop I NEED evernote, skype, Thunderbird, Firefox, Digsby
6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
One habit I need to change is working too much. And I’m starting to figure out how to not work on weekends, but it’s really hard (seriously!). I have an upcoming move & look forward to socializing more with friends.
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
I plan to get more exercise on a regular basis. Although January is over & I’ve managed to avoid it so far! 
7 Habits of Hightly Effective Social Marketers- Paula Berg
I’ve already forgotten what interview number this is, so let’s just move on and introduce Paula! There’s a reason you’ve all heard of Southwest Airlines, and it’s probably because of the outstanding efforts of Paula Berg, who used to run Southwest’s new media. Paula’s a terrific, energetic speaker, and will get you hooked on Southwest Airlines (or social media) before you know it. She has finally returned home to place she loves in Colorado, and answers the 7 Habits questions as she stares at the Rocky Mountains out her window…
About Paula
I’m the Digital Media Lead at Linhart PR, a national public relations and corporate communications counseling firm based in Denver, CO. (NOTE- interesting name of their corporate blog….) I earned my social media stripes at Southwest Airlines, where I served as the company’s first Manager of Emerging Media, responsible for the development of the airlines’ social media strategy and the leadership of the airline’s emerging media team.
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Great question. I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot lately and looking back on all of the things that have influenced me over the years – everything from the people I’ve known to the jobs I didn’t get. I could list a hundred things, but if I had to boil it down to one, I’d say it has been being an independent thinker, a trait I attribute to my father. I can be a bit scrappy at times, a trait I attribute to my mother. I never accept ideas just because “it’s the way it has always been.” I prefer figuring things out for myself. I love a challenge and a hearty debate. And, of course, I love being right (wink). But if I’m going to be wrong, I want it to be because someone else was right and not because I was too lazy to find a better solution.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
I roll over, pick up my phone and check my online channels – email, text, Twitter, Facebook and news. Then I try to go back to sleep for 10 -30 minutes, but that never works. Scanning everything as soon as I wake up allows me to visualize my day and start thinking about what I need to accomplish so I can hit the ground running when I get to the office.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I’m not sure if I am efficient with my day…honestly, I’m all over the place. I’m extremely organized, but I often say that my work style is a bit like George Washington’s teeth – you don’t want to see it. Any tool that allows me to be online and connected 24 hours a day so I can obtain information, reach colleagues, document ideas when they come together, or figure out where I need to be helps.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
I’m going to give a shout out to my former employer and say Nuts! Southwest Airlines’ Crazy Recipe for Success. The airline’s unorthodox approach to business and customer relations fits my style and illustrates how a little bit of independent thinking can overcome challenges, revolutionize an industry, and even change the world.
5. 3 things on your desk right now/3 things you can’t live without
Water bottle, iphone, and a small pad of paper that goes with me everywhere (for those times I can’t be online). And, chapstick. I’m never without chapstick.
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
I recently kicked several bad habits and then decided that life is a lot more fun when you’re naughty. So, I’ve taken them up again. But I still feel guilty about them sometimes, so I guess I’m trying to kick the desire to kick bad habits and just roll with it.
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
I spend so much time online these days, I was thinking I’d like to try writing some letters – old school style with pen, paper and stamps.
Measuring Social Media…
Two weeks ago I listened to webinar hosted by Mike Lewis of Awareness on Social Media ROI. The speaker? Katie Paine of KD Paine and Partners. For those of you new to Social Media measurement- look no further. Katie knows social media, and the answer to the most important question asked from the CMO “What’s my ROI”?! and “How do I Measure Social Media?”
Here is a quick taste of some of the nuggets of information she shared with the audience.
First, her definition of ROI isn’t what you think it is. It’s not “Return on Investment” but it is the following:
“ROI is an economic term, not necessarily and actionable measure of success”
“There is no audience you target, there are multiple constituencies”
For the metric-driven marketer, consider asking yourself a subjective question when embarking on a social media campaign. For example, “If you are celebrating complete, 100% success a year from now, what is different?”
Should you blog or tweet? “Don’t ask yourself, ask your customers!”
And finally, one of my favorites. The definition of time, success and reach has changed. “The answer isn’t how many you have reached, but how those people you have reached have responded.“
And those are just the soundbites- I strongly recommend you take a few minutes (ok, 50 minutes) to listen to the webinar.
Hospitals Getting Social and how the Supreme Court Changed Video
Two weeks ago, I attended the Massachusett’s Hospital Association’s event-the New Wild, Wild West- Social networking for Hospitals. Some brief comments and reflections on the day….
The room was packed- terrific job of the MHA marketing the event and spreading awareness about this through the Boston area.
A good overall presentation by two people from TMP Worldwide-Alissa Story and Lori Charest, about social media. A quick word of friendly (and constructive, I hope) advice for Alissa and Lori. If you are going to talk about Twitter, please make sure that you, a) have a twitter account and b) don’t protect your updates.
My favorite part of the presentation was listening to two lawyers talk about the legal ramifications of the use of social media. The best nugget of information was not hospital related, but profound nonetheless..
Did you know that the Supreme Court in 1984 barely ruled in favor of Sony’s Betamax VCR in a case against Universal City Studios? Big deal. What did this mean?
Well for one, it allowed people to record videos at home and watch them at home. It took the power of media creation and distribution out of the big studios’ hands and began to start handing it over to other businesses, like, say, Blockbuster, your local video store, and now in today’s world, companies like Netflix, Hulu.com and more.
Fascinating to think that this almost didn’t happen. Would we still be going to the movies in droves? Probably not, but it stirred up the video world back in 1984 and perhaps it’s probably why we consume so much video online now. (In one week in January 2009, 97 million Americans viewed a clip online, as many as tuned into any major network….)
The day finished up with some terrific presentations of hospitals in the field who are walking the talk in Social Media. One of them was Lowell General Hospital (disclosure- they are a client) and Beth Israel Deaconess here in Boston. Rhonda Mann, their Dir. of Marketing and Communications gave some fine examples of what they’re doing in her brilliant deadpan voice and presentation- (you should hear her speak). I won’t go into detail here, but let their “Healthy is” campaign speak for itself here.
