Community

What was the last thing you did to provide value to your community?

February 3, 2010

Let’s ask this question today and see what kind of responses we each have. As Wim Rampen reminds us, it’s the outcome that customers want, not the relationship. At the heart of business, we should be providing value to the people that we are ‘targeting,’ so let’s do a quick inventory of how we’re doing in this area.

We hear the words ‘provide value’ or ‘engage the customer’ all the time, but often the actual follow-through is lacking. Our communications should be primarily designed to help the people we are communicating with, not just fill empty space for the sake of filling it. I’m guilty in my own writing and musings online of not taking this into account fully, but it’s something I keep an eye on as much as possible.

Take Facebook for example. For many individuals, Facebook is a great place to keep up with the people that are in their networks, but sometimes the content that is being shared doesn’t appear to be providing much value. This sense of over-sharing can be detrimental to the ongoing engagement people have with their friends if they wear out the news feeds with random dribble and little valuable content that matters to their friends. The same is true for brands, and arguably to a greater degree. The endless ‘buy our stuff’ posts can have the effect of numbing the brand’s fans and desensitize them to the content that is being posted, or worse, they can hide the updates altogether, which defeats the point of having them as fans in the first place.

The remedy for the above scenario is contributing to the conversation in a way that benefits the recipient of the communication. This seems so basic, but it’s often not practiced in day-to-day business. If we want to engage our community and provide value, then we should be passing our communications through some sort of filter that determines the value of the communication to the recipient before they go out. An approach such as this might very well nudge participants into elevating the dialogue to a level that truly builds value for all involved.

So, what is the last thing you did, as an individual or as a brand that provided value to your community? I’ll start. I tweeted a few articles that I thought were very worthwhile reading this morning. One was on the Agency of the Future, and the another was Does Being Happy Make Your Healthy? Both of the articles resonated with me and I thought they would be seen as valuable to the people that follow me on Twitter. Hopefully this blog post also provides some value to those who are subscribed or have connected in other ways.

What about you? What was the last thing you did to provide value to your community?

Photo Source: iStockphoto

Connecting…

November 19, 2009

This is a new chapter for me, and I’m looking at the road ahead with much enthusiasm and optimism. I decided to start fresh with a new site and blog and make a renewed commitment to be more active with my own writing. In the midst of this shift, I dug back through some old entries from the past few years to see if I wanted to move them over and I decided some of the content is still relevant. Hopefully they may provide value to someone. Maybe even to you.

Exposure

Julien Smith wrote a couple of weeks ago about ‘showing your neck‘ and I thought he had some amazing insights with his take on showing weakness in public. It’s a short post and if you have 2 minutes, I really encourage you to read it. Essentially, in life, we are all humans. People. We’re on this journey together, and the more we can connect with each other as people, the closer our bonds will become. This has become increasingly clear to me, and I’m striving to keep the human side in my work and my writing as much as possible. The point is that by being more authentic, including ‘showing your neck’ – i.e. owning up to weakness, flaws, etc., we are all able to relate to each other on a deeper level as humans. A little neck every once in a while is good. Thanks for that reminder @Julien.

I’m posting this and launching my new site before it’s ‘ready’ according to my typical standards. Instead of waiting on everything to be just right and perfectly designed, I’m making the leap and showing a little neck. Time is too valuable to waste waiting.

Working with Intention

I’m looking ahead at the way I approach business with intention and purpose. The moves that I am making and the work I am seeking are intentional, or specifically due to their alignment with my core values and beliefs. Aligning passion for life and passion for business is not a long shot – the opportunities are out there, and I believe we simply need to open ourselves up to them and allow them to manifest in our lives. We really can create our reality. Smart thinkers have been proving this for generations. I’m making a personal commitment to listen – not only to what’s going on out in the digital world and within my networks, but to listen to myself and to what my internal guidance system is telling me. From this place I will be better able to make decisions with intention that will line up the opportunities to move me forward toward my goals.

Voice

For me, my voice is saying that being a part of and actively promoting a sustainable future is my calling. The relationships that I’ve cultivated and those that I’m developing now are the building blocks for this future. Working with sustainable buildings, products, programs, travel – these are all areas in which I’m passionate. More than any point in my lifetime, these ideals are becoming accepted in mainstream culture. The idea that we can and should do better has seeped into the thinking of some important leaders in businesses, governments, and other groups around the world. At the same time, we are all becoming much more willing and able to share information with our networks than ever before. In essence, we are expanding our collective voice. This alignment of sustainable thinking and social channels is amplifying the message, which allows these innovative ideals to spread even faster. Is there a better opportunity than right now to propel this movement? I think not.

Even as I was writing this entry, I saw a really cool tweet pop up in my TweetDeck alerts – it caught my eye because it was referencing a TreeHugger article on Starbucks. I stopped to check it out and it definitely had my head nodding. The article was an interview with Tony Gale, Starbucks’ Corporate Architect – in it, he discusses the initiatives that Starbucks has in place to make their stores LEED certified, and other steps that they are taking to be good stewards and community partners. This guy is doing great work – I can’t wait to meet him! Interestingly for me, it was just last week that a career opportunity working with the Starbucks social media team also popped up in my TweetDeck, which I jumped on right away. One of the reasons I got so excited about the opportunity is because they are taking steps like this out in the community. And of course, they are known as having a pretty bang-up social media program. Seems like alignment at work to me.

Connecting

As I embark on this new chapter for myself, I encourage others to show a little neck from time to time. We’ll all be much closer as a community if that happens. If we haven’t connected yet – please check me out on Twitter at @brandon101. That’s where I tend to spread most of my thoughts on business and social media. If you’re looking to connect on a more personal level, we can connect on Facebook at facebook.com/brandonsutton. My only request is that if we’ve never met in person or we’re only distantly affiliated, please include a short note in the friend request so I know the context. I use Facebook differently than Twitter, and to help manage the volume of info, this is what works best for me. Thanks in advance!

Calling

This is my call out to the world, with a little neck thrown in for good measure. I’m looking to create and explore opportunities with people who share these ideals. I’ve got a ton of energy and stamina around this, and I have an open mind about what comes my way. It’s time to get to work, and I’m ready. More than ever!

Does this resonate with you? I would love to hear what you think. Thanks for being here – I hope you like what you read.

Social Media Strategy

Talking is not enough…

November 3, 2008

Neither is listening for that matter. Marketers love to talk and Researchers love to listen. We find all kinds of ways to say things in oh-so-perfect fashion and a zillion ways to quantify and qualify consumer behavior. But guess what? It’s not enough anymore. We can no longer research consumer behavior and then come up with a brilliant, slick campaign to get people to buy from us and expect these to work on their own. It’s just not enough anymore. Of course, we must continue to do these things, but not in lieu of ENGAGING with our audience! Engagement is the missing piece of the puzzle for many brands out there in the world. Some of the most well-known and most respected brands are still not fully engaged with their consumers. Why?

I think one of the biggest problems that we are facing in the Marketing world is the lack of commitment to true, ongoing engagement with consumers. Many executives are hesitant to engage because they see it as a big commitment and one that can be a bit scary or uncontrollable. But why are they scared? Isn’t this exactly what they want? Don’t we as Marketers want to establish that connection between our brands and our consumers? It is not the goal to get the attention of our target consumers and encourage them to spread the word amongst their own spheres of influence? Surely we should be embracing this and becoming part of the dialog as much as possible.

Maybe they think this is all just a passing phase. Well guess what – things are not going to go back to the way they were. Nope – we’ve come too far. Consumer engagement is not a fad that will be a thing of the past in 2 years. Technology has allowed information and opinions to spread at an incredible pace, and there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Can you imagine online customer reviews being a thing of the past? What about blogging – can you envision 3 years from now blogs being a joke? Next year, could people decide that they no longer want to share videos and photos with each other online or connect with each other on social networks? Of course not! So what is stopping so many brands from doing what they need to do to fully engage their audience?

The PR departments of forward-thinking companies get it. They know that they have to get down in the trenches with consumers and interact with them consistently. Putting out releases is part of the equation, but instead of directing them specifically at media outlets, they must now be geared toward everyday consumers and bloggers who can run with the ball. Instead of magazine editors or newspaper writers contacting them for information, consumers now expect this kind of access. Denying them the ability to engage is as foolish as ignoring an author that wants to write a story about your brand in a respected publication. Sending out information is only the first step – participation in the conversation that occurs as a result is the key to effectiveness.

Check out one of our clients who has recently embraced Social Media. Zoo Atlanta took the first step by engaging on MySpace. Less than a month into the program, there have been 2 big announcements that the Zoo has been discussing with its MySpace community. Check out the blog entries and note the volume of comments in response. This is a great example of how Social Media can work when you have people who are open to new ideas and are willing to dedicate the time to talk directly with their audience. If a local non-profit organization can ‘get it’ and run with the ball, then other brands can too. They just need the guidance to help find their way.

Social Media Strategy

Create your own community!

June 26, 2007

I have read article after article on niche social networks and the fact that they are the future on the web, etc. The mega-networks like MySpace and Facebook are so entrenched with consumers that I don’t see anyone coming along and replacing them anytime soon. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but I find it highly unlikely. On the other hand, the real opportunity for growth is in smaller, targeted (and even sponsored) communities based on shared interests.

A colleague of mine sent me a link this morning to an online community called Club of Pioneers, which is self described as ‘a community of pioneering individuals, promoting sustainable and mobile lifestyles for an earth-friendly future.’ The site features blogs, a forum, news articles, and in-depth member profiles that allow the members to express their views on environmental issues. Oh, and did I mention that the site is sponsored by BMW? Yeah, that’s right – a major car company is reaching out and offering a connecting point for like-minded individuals. BMW’s branding is very subtle, and they are not trying to beat anyone over the head with ads or messaging. Instead, they are showing goodwill and allowing the members to discover the initiatives that BMW has in place to become more environmentally responsible. The focus is on the community, not the brand. The brand is just along for the ride (pardon the pun) but scores big points for supporting the environmental cause.

There are endless opportunities for brands to create their own niche networks online. All it takes is a little creativity and willingness to try something new. Communities don’t necessarily have to be cause-related, although I happen to think this is a great angle to pursue. Really any shared interest can be the foundation of a network – it could be cooking, interior design, cars, painting, sports, or whatever. The point is that the opportunities are limited only by our imagination. Think about it. If it resonates with you, then do it! You might find it easier than you think to create one on your own.

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