Digital Marketing Strategy, PR and Messaging
I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be a model. I love that stuff — the glitz, glamor, make-up, product, fashion of the runway. You can bet, though, I’d never model for Land’s End. When you watch the video here, you’ll get what I’m talking about…Land’s End makes its plus-size models look extraordinarily frumpy, having lack of confidence and implied low self esteem.
I leave you to watch and ponder as you consider whether I’ve got a point, or not. I’m offended; are you?
It’s Friday; here’s a roundup of a few pieces of insight in case you missed them…
…via @DannyBrown
It’s Friday, and the ‘sphere is reeling from Klout’s move to decrease scores and thus influence while also throwing a curve ball to parents concerned their kids are being added to Klout, albeit privacy settings on Facebook would suggest that as an impossibility.
My friend @DannyBrown has been trying, to no avail, to get his profile removed from Klout as he believes it’s a menace to the true meaning of influence, and his quest has provoked many a conversation about this “influence channel.”
…via @PatFlynn of Smart Passive Income
Pat Flynn’s newsletter came in today. Instead of his newsy notes, it was a letter suggesting he was getting perturbed that bloggers who grow too large for their britches should take a lude and come back to earth. He asked for his readers’ help to keep him honest and earthly while at the same time he acknowledged his own astonishingly aggressive growth spurt.
…via @ShakirahDawud of Deliberate Ink
She’s a talented writer and one I love reading. When Shakirah rolls into high gear with her storytelling, feature writing, novel-esque wordsmithing, it’s always a delight. In this post, she shares the “who” and “whom” conundrum and encourages everyone to get it write right.
…via @3HatsComm of 3 Hats Communication
My friend Davina Brewer, who has disappeared from the interwebz and is now a lurker, says that websites should not be designed cheaply. All those $99 website ads are bogus. Davina says she’s turned on to WordPress, and I agree! See what she says right here. (And, I wanted to give her a nod to say she’s missed.)
…via @LeonNoone of Staff Performance Secrets
I love this guy. His quick wit and dry humor make me laugh every time he comments and he “makes sure you have fun.” Leon is an Aussie change management consultant (I have no idea, I just said that), and I want him to know his stuff is good. In his blog post about 10 simple secrets to improving staff performance https://staffperformancesecrets.com/2011/10/staff-performance-10-tips/ the list is a great reminder how we need to delight customers.
If anyone comments, please do share a link to something you’ve written or a nod in another direction. In fact, what a great idea…please and thank you!
Were you as surprised as I was to see your Klout score bottom out nearly 14 points lower yesterday? I looked twice and did a “huh” and then remembered it was planning a total revamp of its algorithm and people would not be as influential as they thought they were.
Yawn. Whatever. So what?
Let’s remind ourselves what influence is – there’s been so much discussion (the ‘sphere is alive and kicking with all the Klout posts today) about whether a number dictates your influence. It doesn’t! But, we’re all so competitive that when a number is associated with us that correlates to the frequency of tweeting and posting, we start to believe it!
Yesterday on the #MeasurePR Twitter chat with @Shonali and @JenZings, that question came up…is influence measurable? I believe, perhaps, but not via Klout. Is Klout monitoring key words and strength of message within each tweet and post? Who is awarding the +K and is it a game like for “cougar,” “sheep,” “wine,” or other non-influential word?
Imagine a software salesperson who RTs 100 tweets/per day; his Klout score would increase for sure. Now, look inside those tweets and see what they say – are they all tech oriented, or not? The latter…and herein lies the problem.
Klout is “measuring” frequency of exposure not the content within that exposure.
So, with your lower Klout score as of yesterday:
1. Carry on, Garth. It’s business as usual!
2. Create the engagement in your community you’ve been striving for all along.
3. Keep the conversations going about issues near and dear to you and recognize you will get something out of that communication but your Klout score will remain as is.
4. Don’t get so caught up about a number. Who are these guys anyway, associating their arbitrary algorithm to every peep who tweets? When you sit back and think of it that way, it’s clear – you are master of your own influence and no one else.
So, ready to ignore Klout and keep the momentum going?
Funny title, eh? Indeed, where the heck am I blogging when this space has been empty all week?
Let me share, so you know I have been busy…just elsewhere:
On Law in New York
>> JD Match, is the first online law student recruiting service that allows law student member to rank law firm members and law firms to rank law students based on hiring criteria. Launched in April 2011, the service is run by Janet Stanton, CEO, and Bruce MacEwen, president (also of Adam Smith Esq. fame).
The guest post I wrote for them appeared Monday this week, called “Becoming A Lawyer Begins By Building A Solid Foundation.”
About Respect for Life in Romania
>> When I wrote my post a few weeks back about the Mexican drug cartel decapitating bloggers/journalists, my friend Stan Faryna reacted. He invited a repeat of this article on his blog in Romania to help spread the word about the disrespect for life. Today, Stan kindly ran a repeat of the post, and there are several wonderful comments contributing to the discussion.
You may access it here, “Murder Will Not Silence Us.”
I welcome your visits on these two blogs and will engage with you there when you stop in. Thanks to those who already have!
Check out what Robert Rose, founder and chief troublemaker at Big Blue Moose (who helps marketers become storytellers), has to say in Chief Content Officer…I am so blown away because it’s making me think, think, think, and the below is merely a reaction to pages one and two of the article!
His headline had me at the top — “Why a hyper focus on measurement and incremental gains makes marketers average.” Really? That’s awesome.
If you know me, you’ll know I kick and scream all the way to analytics, and that includes measurement. Now, don’t tell Shonali, Rebecca Dennison or Neicole Crepeau I said that.
What Rose says is that everyone is striving for best practices and that’s about it.
Can I repeat that? Here’s what Rose said in Chief Content Officer, and it’s all appropriately attributed:
“Content marketers in particular seem to be in the grips of ROI monomania. …What we’re really looking for are best practices; they’re safe. Whenever we’re trying something new like content marketing, we become so focused on following best practices that we forget our real job is to be innovative.”
I love this insightful approach to best practice. When I worked in a hospital, each service line was oriented to best practice. Put the solution into action, perfect it, and then travel the country lauding its inner workings so others can emulate it.
Think about how that works — you get the recipe for a best practice, execute on it while following the formula, and call it a day. Infrequently, do people exceed or push the limits of the best practice because really all that’s required is to meet expectation.
WOAH.
In this day and age, when status quo has eroded, it’s imperative we always push the boundaries and exceed comfort levels to earn a level of excellence not previously attained. That’s the essence of what Rose is saying, “…we are saying that we’re satisfied with being average.”
Do you agree?
Rose offers a list of six tips that help you turn the status quo on its head, and I’m not going to recap them because they’re really good and I have to come up with my own. Basically, here is what I recommend to heed Rose’s counsel and buck the average:
>Stand on your head. What’s north is south, and what’s south is north. Change up the bird’s eye view and put on the rose-colored glasses.
>Delete all your followers; how’s that working for you @ChrisBrogan? When you make an extreme change with gusto, you’re bucking best practice and changing it up.
>Stop commenting on the same blogs day in and day out; in fact, stop commenting. What will happen? Will you have an epiphany that you really do like the social webs and can’t wait to get back? Or, will no one miss you at all, and you’ll burrow deep into depression and hibernate for winter? You’ll certainly learn about personal behavior if you do this exercise.
>Find a new hang out. There are groups and cliques and alliances and networks; doesn’t matter how they’re labeled. If yours is inactive and you’re bored to death, then switch on outta there and find some new energy! Align with those who boost you up and not with those who bring you down!
>Get zany creative during a campaign. I read somewhere a young ad agency account rep actually brought kitty litter and her cat to the pitch (they were pitching kitty litter). When her cat used the product, the client was turned off but the agency VP thought it quite clever.
>Go out on a limb and then break it. If you stick your neck out, and you’re really heading out on a limb, keep going until you push the boundaries a few times. Get comfortable and then do it all over again.
Measurement
Another final observation, and this one may have me going out on a limb…heh. is about measurement. I’m going to blame Chief Troublemaker Robert Rose for this ramble:
When peeps are so focused on proof of campaign smarts, they need tried-and-true deliverables with measurable tactics.
If a new tactic is incorporated into a best practice, can it be measured immediately? Won’t new metrics have to be established and proven over time? I’m asking…
So, maybe content marketing programs aren’t required to have direct ROI. With best practices and average innovation, measurement has a solid place to do its thing; when new concepts are added to the mix, measurement gets thrown a curve ball. Time is required to clock and tick and tally to incorporate innovative ideas into an even better best practice.
So…maybe, just maybe…measurement should be relegated to the sidecar for awhile? Just sayin’ and askin’ all at once…what say you?
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