Digital Media vs. Traditional Media

Last month I moderated a debate between traditional and digital media that was run by the Canadian Association of Exposition Management (CAEM). I’ve summarized my opening comments and added some conclusions from the debate.

Traditional Media vs. Digital Media

Traditional Media
Defined here as: print, television, radio and business events
Humans have been on this earth for about 200,000 years and I'm sure the first annual "cave and fire" convention and trade show held at "convention centre rock" was about 199,999 years ago (and is rumored to have been launched by Steve Nichols of Creative Show Productions Inc.). This tongue-and-cheek illustration is intended to demonstrate that traditional media is so much a part of our DNA that we forget how seamlessly it is integrated into our daily lives. Think about it...books, magazines and newspapers don't come with instruction manuals; or when was the last time you had to remember your password to listen to your favorite radio station? How many hours have you spent watching Looney Tunes, M*A*S*H or The Voice?

Sidebar: The Birth of Modern Publishing
Before Newton discovered gravity…before Galileo figure out the world was round and the sun didn't revolve around the earth...there was print media. First developed by the Egyptians some 5,000 years ago with the invention of Papyrus...the sharing of content in print was born. Fast-forward to 1439 and a young stallion named Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press & gave the world mass production of books, magazines and newspapers. This was the birth of today's modern publishing industry!

Digital Media
Defined here as: online, e-newsletters, social media and blogs.
Some interesting facts: 

• By 2020 40% of Canadians will be under 35 years old (where will you be in seven years?) 
• It was announced last month that Google’s revenues are now more than the entire USA newspaper industry 
• Apple is only 36 years old and has an estimated value of $626 billion...and its market cap is larger than Microsoft and Google combined 
• Facebook at 8 years old has 1 billion users (that's only 2004) 
• LinkedIn at 9 years old has 200 million users 
• Twitter at 6 years old has 500 million users with over 340 million tweets/day (however most of us know these users are simply Trevor Lui in different bow ties @luisays)

... And it was announced in September there are more active cell/smart phones subscribers around the world than there are human beings. In fact in 2011, smart phones outsold personal computers by a ratio of 2:1.

The Winner?
Digital is still the new kid on the block but in many ways it has eclipsed and killed many facets of traditional media in less than two decades (remember Encyclopedias?). However, given the average age of humans in the world print is not even close to being dead. Face-to-face events are still the most effective form of human communication and interaction and, with a radio in every car in the world and most modern homes owning several televisions; these mediums continue to be hard-wired into our daily lives.

The consensus from the debate was that one is not better than the other; rather the two are becoming intensely integrated at an explosive rate. Whether you sit firmly on one side of the fence or you are a hybrid like me, the conclusion is the rapid merger of digital and traditional means your customer engagement strategy should also be integrated…or you will be the next KODAK.

Until next time,
@stevedempsey

Social Media: What have you done for me lately?

Have you taken stock of the value you are getting? What are your benefits? Business, personal, entertainment or education? Here's my report card…

Let's tackle the big one first…Facebook.

You may have seen the news recently, FB hit 1 billion users. Pretty incredible given its only eight years old. For me, I've all but abandoned Facebook. If it wasn't for the Flipboard app on my iPad I honestly don't think it would hit my daily radar. That been said, I get two things from it:

1) I get to scan my friends & colleagues photos and see where they are traveling and what they are eating. It's mostly entertainment.

2) I do use it for work and have a couple of groups set up for our niche audiences – so I need to be on it whether I want to or not. 

Here's an interesting infographic regarding today's "value" of Facebook compliments of @JeffHurt

LinkedIn – my old friend

Clocking in at nine years old and closing in on 200 million users, LinkedIn has established itself as the site for professional networking. I've still not taken the plunge to upgrade to a paid/premium account but am sure I would be hooked if I did. What impresses me about LinkedIn is the constant evolution of its tools and widgets that are either skills/experience or network focused. In fact, at their #intalent conference (on Oct 11) - which was live streamed for everyone and anyone – they announced a new tool that will deliver warm leads to you automatically. For me, LinkedIn is indispensable  – my entire professional and personal network is integrated. And of course its home to the world-renowned group The Steve Report! The beauty of LinkedIn is no matter where my professional career takes me, my LinkedIn profile comes with me. With the war for talent only just warming up, LinkedIn is going to be at the centre of it.

Twitter – my new BFF

I will openly admit, I didn't get Twitter or understand it during its first few years on the scene. Now at six years old and over 500 million users generating over 340 millions tweets/day, I am fully engaged in its power. I use it equally for both personal and professional gain. I follow some pretty interesting folks like @QueenRania, @hwinkler4real (yes the Fonz!), @Alyssa_Milano and @chrissyteigen. But I also follow countless professional people & organizations that have almost replaced my traditional news sources. Twitter has gained real ground of late with the simple integration of photos into tweets and they recently announced a similar plan to integrate video (watch out FB). As for the benefits to me? I have successfully & consistently driven traffic to our website(s), a direct result that I can monetize.

Some New Kids…

I've only recently started playing with Foursquare and am quite impressed. I don't have it on my  phone…only on my iPad so I'm restricted to free Wi-Fi zones (which explains why I'm stellar at checking in at Starbucks & Tim Hortons!). I've also recently downloaded Pinterest and am equally impressed with its simple application. If you have products or services that are visual, I highly suggest you check it out. I've also been reading that the recently re-launched MySpace is slick and could be the comeback kid of 2013.

In Summary…

Having played with almost all of the platforms, I'm convinced you don't need to be a #socialmedianinja to get value out of them. My advice, pick one or two that you feel most comfortable with and make a commitment to play with them. The first benefits you will see are likely be social/entertainment…and then you will understand how organizations are able to apply strategies to gain market share, loyalty and brand engagement.

One Last Thing…

If you are on one or all of these and don't have a clue what to publish as your status update or tweet…check out this brilliant blog regarding content marketing by @ScottMonty (Head of social media at Ford Motor Company)

Until next time,

@stevedempsey

I've become…Average

Taking a step back allows you to gain a different perspective…but what happens when your perspective becomes average?

Its no secret, for a lot of years I was a champion for business events, happily leading the cheerleading squad, toting the benefits of the events industry and leading the rally cry for meeting, incentive and special event planners everywhere to join arms and be recognized. Folks that know me know that I am still passionate about the business events industry…but my perspective has been challenged.

For the past year, I've been rebuilding magazines for Business Information Group; namely Hardware Merchandising and Canadian Contractor. Heading into this fall, we are launching three conferences for Canadian Contractor and rebuilding an awards gala for Hardware Merchandising. I'm now your typical corporate meeting planner…organizing events part-time, not a member of any business event industry association, and deeply passionate about my non-event industries.

In short, I've become…average. My events this fall will be great, by my own measurements, and they will require no additional meeting planning education to accomplish said greatness. I will rely on my suppliers/partners to ensure my critical path doesn't go off the rails. I will likely beg a huge favour from someone for something I forgot, overlooked or underestimated. And after the events are done, I will retreat into the depths of my industries feeling safe and comfortable knowing I won't need to begin planning again for several months.

Being a part-time planner allows you to sit on the sidelines. You can easily justify not engaging in the "business events industry" because it is not "my" industry. In my own case, my industries are home improvement retail and residential renovations & construction. So what is the tipping point when someone gets off the sideline and engages? Is it when the percentage of their day job reaches a magic number? Is it a casual invitation from a supplier to come to function as their guest? Is it after an event goes horribly wrong and the individual gets on Google and learns there is a lot to learn about planning events? I would speculate the answer could be "all of the above".

Over the past year I have had a front row seat in rebuilding a business from the ground up; re-engaging an industry using print, online and face-to-face events. Now, going forward, I want to network and learn with fellow entrepreneurs how to be even better and continue to grow my businesses.

So I hereby give notice that I am getting off the sideline…see you soon!
Steve

Moira; my eulogy

If I'm only half as respected as Moira...I'll consider myself tremendously successful...and one very lucky individual.

I first met Moira Hearn of Select Group Marketing in late 1994...post CMITS (now IncentiveWorks) and planning for the 1995 show. For reasons unknown to me at the time, she adopted me into her flock. For over 17 years we swore and promised we would do lunch...and it didn't happen until after I left M+IT/IncentiveWorks in Feb 2011. True to her word, we went for lunch...and Moira was still looking out for me even when I couldn't directly help her professional goals - she was that kind a human being.

We had some great laughs and adventures but make no mistake...Moira gave me a piece of her mind when she felt compelled; however it was always with constructive criticism for the growth and development of IncentiveWorks and the industry (and a little mentorship for me too).

I didn't know Moira before the mid-90's and her accomplishments. We never socialized outside of work. Regardless, Moira was one of those special people I would take a bullet for...and sadly the bullet that got her was one that no one else could step in front of.

To this day, the greatest lesson Moira demonstrated to me was that a strong relationship is only a phone call away. Not email, not fax, not Skype…a phone call. Moira was the original social media...making connections and relationships in and out of her immediate circles...backed up with a hand shake followed closely with a big hug.

Moira...if you're reading this...thank you for being my friend. I'll miss you tremendously.

Until next time

Steve

Are you profiling your customers?

I love technology and the latest gadgets/apps...but I also know I'm in the minority when compared to the general business population. So when you're communicating with your customers, what level of sophistication are you using?

Define your customer

For purpose of discussion, let's agree your customer is any business professional whom you are communicating with and you want to take a desired action. An action may be to open your email, answer the phone, complete a survey, register for a business event, or maybe even buy something from you.

So now you have a customer (or prospect) and a defined goal (action). Have you profiled your customer? Hopefully you have dozens or hundreds of customers and prospects so no, I don't mean profiling each one...but I do mean you should have an average profile of an average customer.

Customer Profiling Questions (to ask yourself)

What keeps them up at night? Are they male or female? Average age, family profile (pets, kids, etc.), cars and/or trucks, vacation(s). When and how do they read their email? Desktop computer, smart phone, tablet, or a combination of all three? If they are in meetings/events during business hours, then they likely are reading email in off hours. How engaged is your average customer in social media? If yes, determine which ones and when they use them? Who are their trusted sources for information and how do they consume/share it?

The point being your average customer profile should outline everything you would include if introducing this person to your parents/family...and then they Google’d your customer to check your story. Then, and only then, can you even start to think about a communication plan asking them to take your desired action.

Your communication plan should match language, colours, and images that appeal most to your average customer. Humour may not be as appropriate as the team in your office may think. Appeal and speak to their needs, wants and desires. Bonus Tip: you will likely have to have a few "average profiles" and customized communication plans for each.

Why bother with all this extra work?

Modern research has shown that if you communicate the wrong message on the wrong medium at the wrong time not only will you not get the action you are seeking...but you will turn that customer off your product/brand/service indefinitely because you didn't take the time to learn about them in the first place.

Until next time,

Steve

What's on your iPad?

Have you taken the plunge and got yourself an iPad yet? Are you sitting on the fence 'cause you’re not sure what the benefits are? Here's what I've got on my iPad and I'd love to hear what's on yours...

I upgraded my iPad 1 to the new iPad and opted for the basic Wi-Fi model. I don't store movies or videos and only keep a small selection of my music as I can access my Sirius satellite radio via their app. In no particular order, here are my favorite apps and why:

Flipboard - this is a widely popular app that is an aggregator of social media, magazine and news channels. What I love about it is the information is displayed in a very user-friendly format, it's easy to navigate and read a variety of feeds in one shell. Bonus Trick...when I attend a show or event, I can pre-load the event's Twitter hashtag as a channel to read/follow so I don't have to search for it every time! Cost: Free

Keynote - this is the ‘Power Point’ for iPad. I can build presentations and promotions quickly and professionally all using my iPad. It took a couple of hours of playing around to get proficient at it but now that I am I couldn't live without it. Cost: $10

Pages - this is the ‘Word’ for iPad. It's easy to use and gives me total flexibility to create, edit and share Word docs. Cost: $10

Dropbox and iCloud - I use these to store and access all my work and personal files. Think of them as virtual hard drives that you can access anywhere... and yes they are secure. Bonus ...with Dropbox you can share folders with others so you don't need to email versions of documents back & forth.

Netflix - this is a great app that allows me to watch TV shows and movies from my iPad or at home through my Wii console. This is great when I'm on the road as I can watch a movie in my room and not pay the hotel to rent one (sorry guys).  Bonus ...I also use Crackle, Global and CityTV but a lot of their content doesn't interest me. Cost: the app is free and the service is $8/month

Epicurious - this is a great app for the amateur cook or chef! Bonus...it comes with a built in grocery item list too. Cost: Free

SoundHound - a must for every iPhone and iPad owner. Don't know who sings that song on the radio? Simply launch the app, let it listen to the song, and it tells you all kind of information including who sang it! Cost: Free

In addition to the above I've got the usual games, banking, and use Notes for meetings and blogging. Bonus Trick... I recently hooked up a wireless receiver at home that I can control and feed music/satellite radio throughout my house (and patio) using AirPlay (100% on the iPad)!

Until next time...

Steve

Reading Steve Jobs - Getting Started (blog)

I've decided to take the plunge and read the ~1,700 page Steve Jobs biography...and blog about my experience. The first question to answer is why read this book?

Curiosity is the primary reason. Wether you like Mac's or PC's, you have to respect what Jobs accomplished. Also, with some 16,000 reader reviews scoring it four or five out of five, I gotta think there's something good in there. 

Convenience is my second reason. I never would have bought and carried around a nearly 2,000 page book (this is why I've never read Bill Clinton's My Life), but with my iPad, not only is it terribly light,  it is with me always. 

If you are one of the millions who have read it, feel free to comment on my thoughts/findings. If you are not, hopefully I can provide some interesting insights for you.

Until next time,

Steve
thestevereport@gmail.com

PS: ...and no, the irony of reading Jobs' biography on my iPad is not lost on me!

The Value of Value

My friend Trevor Lui (@LuiSays) said it best...time is money. But you are not likely to part with either without  knowing the value, or the promise of value, that you will receive in return. When was the last time you really gave some thought to defining value?

Value is a finicky friend to time and money; value is as much about perception as it is a measurable commodity. The same value means different things to different people, cultures and time zones. So how can you deliver value when it's a moving target?

If we presume that you would trade time or money for a product, then value could be defined as the service you provide. It goes without saying that your products must be on par with or have benefits that comparable products in your category have. And I think it's fair to say we've all been promised "the best service" to death by every organization from fast food to politics.  So is value a myth? Is value an empty promise?

The answer is everything is a commodity and loyalty is a myth. In our A.D.D. society of smart phones and tablets, we don't need to be loyal to any product or brand as we can jump from value promise to value promise with the tap of a finger.

To compete on value you must evolve from providing great service to being more fascinating than your competitors. A new product has an inherent fascination factor but it is the organizations themselves that are inherently fascinating that we strive to emulate. Take Apple for example, they will release a new iPad3 this year; the product will have a fascinating elements, but they will sell tens of millions because Apple continuously evolves itself to be more fascinating than its products.

Until next time,
Stevethestevereport@gmail.com

PS: Not sure how to become or stay fascinating? Then pick up or download Sally Hogshead's book Fascinate; it provides a framework to get you there.

LinkedIn Polls: A Useful Tool? (blog)

So I tried out the new LinkedIn polling feature (see Chicken vs. Egg poll) and have some likes and dislikes...


I like...

• the fact that group members, when they receive an email update, can vote on the poll right from thier email. This is great because the user doesn't have to click several times to vote.
• as an administrator it's really easy to set up and monitor. if your event or company has a LinkedIn group, its a great way to get a poll out fast and garner quick returns.

I dislike...

• I set up my Chicken vs. Egg poll to run for 1 week. This was for no particular reason, just seemed like a good idea. As the person running the poll, I can't seem to close it or end it...nor are there any additional analytic tools beyond the results. This is OK if you are asking a simple question, but not so useful for more in depth questions.
• The poll can not contain any live links, photos, pop-ups or other "aids" to explain an optional answer. For example, your voter may need to read a definition of a technical term to answer the poll correctly.

Overall, its an easy tool to use for easy questions. However, don't think this tool - in its current form - will replace audience/attendee surveys or in depth opinion gathering research. But it may just be the too you need to get a quick read on a keynote speaker...or current opinion on a very old question!


Until next time,
Steve
thestevereport@gmail.com