What’s Steve Been Up To Lately?

For the past five weeks I’ve been quietly working as Director, Social Media & Online in the federal election. With the election now over, I am happy to share my experiences and lessons learned that can be applied to any business event.

Special Note: This blog entry is not intended to spur political discussion or views. To ensure this, I will not specify the party or riding I worked for.

In March, I was approached by a candidate in the then anticipated federal election to be her campaign’s Director, Social Media & Online. Having built MeetingsCanada.com and being very experienced in social media, I knew I could do the job. However, not having any experience in federal elections was a unique challenge. The overall goal: stay in constant communication and ensure the online world is in step with the face-to-face world. To accomplish this I had a daily early morning conference call with the campaign manager (seven days/week).  We integrated a Facebook Page & Profile, Twitter feed, created a YouTube channel, Flickr and of course the candidate’s actual website.

Social Media & Politics…

…are not really friends (yet). Yes there was a lot of buzz online, but 90%+ of it was being written/read by the parties campaigning. In my opinion, the average Canadian was not engaged in election blogs, tweets, groups, forums, etc. The one exception being Rick Mercer’s challenge to youth to get out and vote; the result was Vote Mobs (Google it, it’s pretty amazing).

The Lesson: there seems to be a panic environment among most business events if they have not successfully integrated social media yet. Its good perspective to know that every industry is in the same boat; we are not ahead or behind the curve. But make no mistake you at least need to be using social media to be in the game.

Content & Engagement

Its no secret, in the online world content is king. But the layer under content is engagement. These engagement metrics do not just measure how many people read your article or press release; they measure what they did next.  Did they “Retweet” it? “Like” it? Add a comment?

Lesson: Not every piece of content needs an action item, but you should ensure at least 50% does. For example, ask your audience for their opinion, take a position on an issue and challenge your readers to agree to disagree, or simply make a claim such as red Smarties are better than blue ones. If you want your social media and online efforts to “go viral” you will need your audience to engage in your content.

Bonus Tip: we oscillated content between French & English to appeal to all audiences.

Frequency

During the campaign I was posting messages at least once daily (seven days/week), with peaks of four or five and monitoring the competitor’s messages on both a riding and federal level.

Lesson: Your social media & online strategy should ensure you are publishing content or messages at least three times/week. If your plan is to publish weekly or slower, then you will not have enough frequency to generate a following; you need frequency to be top of mind. And don’t just take my word for it…the leading books on social media echo this strategy.

Integration

I found it interesting that all the candidates used voice drops, direct mail and face-to-face as part of their marketing/campaigning…and they always gave a website or social media page as part of their calling card.

Lesson: integrate your marketing efforts; don’t treat them as silos.

The Results

I can’t share all our results due to party confidentiality, but as a small taste, we launched a Facebook Page for our candidate on April 2 and as of May 2 it generated almost 22,000 impressions.

Who knows…maybe in four years my next campaign will be “Vote for Steve”!

Steve

thestevereport@gmail.com

PS: If you would like to learn more about my experience and/or would like to discuss applying my Social Media & Online expertise to your event or organization…drop me line.

posted May 4, 2011

Life Lessons from Shrek

Over the long weekend I re-watched the Shrek trilogy of movies and realized there are many lessons to be learned and applied, both personally and professionally, in today’s world.

Leadership

Throughout the three movies, Shrek evolves into a highly respected leader. First, he became the leader of all the magical creatures then ultimately by the residents of Far Far Away. How did he make this transition? He was focused, dedicated and had integrity. His quest was so simple a 5 year old could understand it and repeat it. Shrek does not waiver from his purpose yet applies extreme compassion to all face-to-face situations. If you want people to follow you, personally or professionally, do you implement these three simple strategies?

Adaptability

Like in real life, quests change and evolve. Shrek recognizes these signs, with the help of his friends (think professional peers). They improve their quest as they gather more information. Take note, I’m not talking about the bumps and curves Shrek and team encounter along the way; every business event has its share of twists and turns. Rather I’m talking about the evolution of the big picture – the 30,000 foot view that our industry struggles to reach at times.

Culture

In everything I’m reading and doing these days, an organization’s culture is a very hot topic. So it was very interesting for me to relax and watch a movie (or three), and see organizational culture developing before my eyes. In the beginning of the trilogy, there is no culture. It is every man, women, and magical creature for themselves. Using leadership and adaptability, Shrek creates a swamp-culture that everyone believes in and, ultimately, is prepared to die for. There are only a few real world examples where culture like this exists; does your organization have its own swamp-culture? If not, what are you doing about it?

Family

I like the Shrek trilogy because it strikes a balance between life and work while using comedy to relieve stressful situations. Shrek goes “to work” so that he can be with the one he loves and, in the third movie, his family. The outside world defines Shrek by his work accomplishments but Shrek, true to his core, defines himself by his family; what a great lesson for kids, and adults, to learn from.

If you haven’t watched the Shrek movies in a while, then maybe they are worth another look. After all, it never hurts to explore your inner-Ogre.

posted April 25, 2011

5 Poker Lessons for your Events

Sometimes a successful event overshadows the good and bad decisions that went into planning it. Like the card game of poker, winning big does not necessarily mean you played great. Here are five poker lessons that can be applied to planning your next event.

1. Manage the Details

In poker, a player plays dozens of hands in the course of the game. The game itself is the event and the event is won by managing each hand as if it is the most important detail above all others. The success of your event comes from managing the hundreds of details and giving each one your complete focus.

2. Anticipate Failure

During a game of poker, a player loses or folds more hands than they win. It is impossible to predict which hands will be the winners and losers. Preparing a contingency plan around your event, communicating it to the key stakeholders and bringing it on site are critical pieces to delivering a successful event. This is show business, there will be bumps along the way and you will need to throw away a few hands to get the big one.

3. Check your Emotions

I’m sure you’ve used the expression “poker face”. The best poker players in the world have a great poker face when they don’t let emotions cloud their judgment. Don’t confuse being passionate for your event with letting your emotions cloud your decisions pre, onsite or post event. Knowing “when to hold ‘em” and “when to fold ‘em” should never be emotional.

4. Experience Counts

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart, but a skilled poker player will always win over a lucky player in the long run. If you are an experienced planner who has run hundreds of events and experienced more obstacles than you can remember, then my advice is to trust your gut. If you are a new or part-time planner and don’t have the experience, then I’d suggest you hire some professional help onsite or at the very least build out your network so you can tap into their skills…because luck will only get you so far.

5. Adapt to Change

The best players adapt as the game changes. Planners are continuously faced with changing information from the smallest detail like onsite dietary restrictions, to union strikes at a venue, and everything in between. Great planners understand the only thing constant is change; they incorporate the changes on-the-fly and seamlessly adapt them into the game plan.

BONUS: Play to Win (self explanatory!)

See you at the next industry poker game!

Steve

thestevereport@gmail.com

Everything I’ve Learned About LinkedIn (so far)

Over the past six weeks I’ve learned a lot about LinkedIn; reading articles, attending webinars and in general just playing and experimenting with it. With my recently launched LinkedIn group, I thought it would benefit everyone to share what I’ve learned…

Why Use It

In my opinion, LinkedIn is the social media tool for business professionals. Nothing against Facebook, Twitter or any of the others but LinkedIn is the preferred tool for professional online networking.

Your Profile

Setting up a profile is free and easy to do in a few minutes. To populate your profile fully will likely take you a couple hours. Not that it’s complicated; it just takes time to get used to their terminology and how the fields all work together.

The Power of Search

The most important thing about your profile is the search function. There is a search function in the top navigation bar on LinkedIn and users not only use this to search a specific person’s name, but also search company names, skills, expertise, geography, etc. The more detailed your profile is, the LinkedIn search function will match your profile against millions of daily searches. In addition, LinkedIn provides these search results to Google (and other search engines) so anyone searching Google can also find your profile. This is very powerful marketing for you as an individual and/or organization.

Virtual Rolodex

On Facebook it’s called “friends”, on LinkedIn its called “connections”. The benefit of building your connections on LinkedIn is it becomes your virtual rolodex. As professionals in your network change jobs or get promoted, they update their profile and thus update your rolodex automatically. The biggest benefit to using LinkedIn as your rolodex is you can export your LinkedIn contacts…something the other social media sites currently do not offer.

Content is King

This is not specific to LinkedIn; using any social media network to simply promote your product or service will not be received well nor will it replace traditional marketing efforts. Contributing or starting discussions that are genuine comments, expert advice or insights will gain you more respect faster than straight up solicitation. If I like your advice or comment, I will look at your profile and contact you directly.

Instant Intelligence

In addition to building your network of people, you can also follow companies. The benefit here is you can see new hires, promotions/changes, departures and new job opportunities. This kind of intelligence provides insights like employee turnover and new initiatives via promotions, changes and new hires. As an individual seeking new opportunity or as an organization looking to keep tabs on your competitors, this instant intelligence is valuable.

Bonus Stuff

iPad app - I personally find the LinkedIn iPad app not very good at all and would not recommend using it. I log into the site with my Safari web browser and have much better access around the site.

FastCompany.com – check out this recent article “How LinkedIn Today Will Change Your Social Media Life” http://www.fastcompany.com/1737349/how-linkedin-today-will-change-your-social-media-life

If you have any questions about LinkedIn please feel free to contact me or post them as a comment. Naturally, if you have some tips/advice of you own now would be an ideal time to share (see Content is King above).

Looking forward to seeing you online!

Steve

thestevereport@gmail.com

How to Network at an Industry Function

First Posted December 3, 2010

For those of us who are industry dinosaurs, you take this skill for granted. But here are a few must-do’s before, during and after attending an industry event that will make the most of your investment in time and money.

Before the Event

Set goals – too many people ‘just show up’ and don’t get anything out of the event. If the attendee list is available, pre-screen it and target 10 people to approach. If the attendee list isn’t available, set a goal to come away with 10 new business cards or shake hands with 25 people. Always, always, always bring plenty of business cards.

During the Event

Here are some ideas that work no matter how many people you know…
• At a networking event, don’t try to sell your product or service; you can book a follow-up meeting for that. Instead, try to connect with the person. What topics do you share an interest in? Kids, pets, hobbies, travel, etc. Don’t ask, “so what do you do?” That won’t build a relationship; it will only tell the person you aren’t interested in them. One of my favorite questions is, “where did you grow up?” Often this reveals that you have a connection (‘six degrees of separation’ theory).
• If you know the person, ask something specific about them. “How are your kids doing?” “Are you going south again for your vacation?” This reinforces that you are a good listener and value your relationship.
• It’s scary to attend an event, by yourself, where you don’t know anyone. How do you start a conversation? Use available tools. A food station or bar, for instance, is a gathering point. Strike up a conversation about the cheese or local wine. Once you’ve engaged someone, introduce yourself. Then play the ‘newbie card.’ Tell them this is your first event; ask, “have you been attending for a lot of years?” I often meet many other first-timers looking to make a connection by asking this question. If they are an ‘old-timer,’ ask if they can introduce you to a few people; you’ll be surprised how open most people are to this request.
• You can always lean on the event organizer. If meeting new people is not your strength, ask the organizer if he/she can introduce you to someone who can take you under their wing. After all, it’s in their best interest that you have a good experience and return.

After the Event

If you meet someone new and exchange business cards, drop them an e-mail the next day to say how nice it was to meet them. Depending on your conversation, you could request a connection on LinkedIn or another social-media site. If there was a follow-up item from your conversation, then make sure you deliver on your promise within 24 hours. You’ve obviously made a great first impression – follow through on it!

Making iGoogle Work for You

First Posted October 19, 2010

iGoogle allows you to build a customized homepage that scours the Internet and brings you customized information, in real time, that is only of interest to you. Here are my favourite iGoogle widgets and how I use them.

Within iGoogle, you can actually set up several pages (think tabs in a binder). Below is a summary of my personal tab; I also have another tab set up for global industry RSS feeds. It may take you some time to get your homepage just how you like it, but when you do, it will save you hours of time, since you only need to check one website – versus a dozen – to get the information you want. If you have your own favourite widget(s), please share them!

Google Analytics Blog – This daily blog provides tips and tricks to get the most out of your Google Analytics and maximize your online performace and productivity.

Google Research Blog – I’ll quickly admit this blog is not for the faint of heart. The topics cover what Google is researching to develop next (a.k.a. what Google considers the future). You may not understand the technical terms, but it is interesting to see what they are working on.

Google Hot Trends – This is a cool widget; it displays the top 10 searched terms in Google in real time.

The Globe & Mail | CBC | Google News – These three sites constantly provide breaking news and their widgets bring the breaking news directly to my home page.

Facebook – This feed allows me to see the most recent status updates of my friends without having to visit my Facebook page. For those of you that are not allowed to surf Favebook at work, this widget might allow you to work around your firewalls!

TSN.ca Top Stories | ESPN.com NFL – The best part about making a customized homepage is you can mix business with pleasure in one location. I like to follow the NFL and sports in general and this widget gives me the recent news as it happens.

Today’s Horoscope | People.com – I keep these two on my home page for pure fun. I consider horoscopes like my daily smile and People.com reassures me that fame & money is not all it’s cracked up to be!

Social Capital vs. Social Media

First Posted October 19, 2010

Although they sound the same and appear to be similar, these are two very different notions that are often confused and combined with costly results.

I was reading the recent white paper The Future of Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face, written by Christine Duffy of Maritz Travel Company and Mary Beth McEuen of The Maritz Institute. This is a good read and will help you understand why and when events are the best medium versus virtual meetings.

The white paper delves into Social Capital and it occurred to me that this often gets confused with Social Media. Social Capital is the value of human relationships, communities and social networks within an organization (or industry). Physical Capital and Human Capital are often associated with productivity; however, Social Capital is the collective resilience, agility and will to succeed that is necessary for business success.

Social Media gets a lot of publicity and most Canadian planners use social media for either business or personal reasons (specifically Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn). The problem is, most people attribute Social Media with developing your network and staying connected. After all, it’s reassuring to see that you have 553 friends on Facebook or see that your LinkedIn network is 2,889,500-plus, three degrees away. These stats trick us into believing we have a high net worth of Social Capital, when in fact, we can have big stats and potentially have zero Social Capital value.

We need to remember that Social Media is only a tool that supports Social Capital. Face-to-face events, whether internal to an organization or an industry, allow us to develop relationships, social networks and sense of community. Social Media simply provides a medium to continue developing your Social Capital, just like the telephone can.

Organizations that mix these two notions up and don’t invest in Social Capital will find themselves at a significant business disadvantage. With regards to our business-events industry, this means you need to get out from behind your computer (and BlackBerry), interact with your peers and develop your and your organizations’ Social Capital.