Social Slam recap: Lessons from 430 house guests
Apr 18th
I had an incredible experience last week that had quite an impact on me.
I founded and helped host (along with Social Media Club Knoxville) a social media conference called Social Slam with more than 400 attendees from 17 states and Canada. It is probably the biggest social-media-related experience of my life so I wanted to share some lessons learned. (And here is fun and lively round-up of the event from Journalist Jack Lail).
Ship it. Seth Godin writes a lot about just “shipping the product.” That was definitely the approach we took on this event. We didn’t it have it all thought out from the beginning. We had a vision for a world-class conference that was affordable and inclusive, and we just went for it. This was a bit out of my box — putting my brand on the line with such public risk.
Although the event had sold out weeks in advance, and the planning was smooth, I really could not conceptualize what was about to happen until I walked into the convention center hall and saw a room filled with 430 chairs. Here is what I said out loud: ”Holy shit.” What if this sucked? Suddenly I felt the weight of 430 house guests — many of them close friends — on my shoulders. All it would take was one messed-up wi-fi connection, one last-minute speaker illness, or a million different possibilities that were out of my control to turn anticipation into angst … or even disaster. It was a scary feeling. But as Seth says, sometimes you just have to start and push fear aside. In this case, it worked.
When things go wrong. – Of course things went wrong. There were plenty of last minute kinks to our plans but as long as we could keep the kinks under the covers it all looked perfect to participants. When you get down to the wire, you just have to overcome and get it done. There was huge value in being able to make decisions on-the-spot without having to get approval from a company or committee.
An event of this size took hundreds of hours of volunteer work to handle everything from logistics to stuffing 400 gift bags!
Empowering others. The logistics and planning for an event like this is daunting. Thankfully we had an outstanding team of volunteers led by the awesome Nicole Denton and Brenna DeLeo of the Knoxville Social Media Club. From my corporate days I learned to delegate and empower but of course it’s a little riskier in a volunteer situation. Surrounding yourself with reliable and trust-worthy partners is essential in a venture like this.
Social giveth and social taketh – People flew in from all over the country based solely on word of mouth from the social web. Our advertising budget was zero. So in that respect, social media was very generous. As you would expect, people were tweeting like mad all day but a few characters who were not even attending the event hijacked the conference hashtag for their own “comedic” agenda. Who knows why? A sad and strange way to get attention I guess? It hurt because dozens of people had sacrificed countless hours to make this event shine for our city. But it was a good experience for me because I caught a glimpse of what companies must go through when they have to watch helplessly as somebody terrorizes their brand and their hard work. But it only lasted briefly and the tweets from the people actually attending the event were awesome. From this, I have a better appreciation of the peril of having no control of your brand on the social web.
The emotion of connection. This event was a celebration on many levels but it was also a homecoming for the {grow} community. Dozens of people who are loyal readers — and who I have never previously met — came to enjoy the event. If you have read this blog for awhile, you may remember a post I wrote about Jenn Whinnem, one of my first Twitter friends. Jenn flew in from Connecticut and when I first saw her walk through the door, there were tears in my eyes. This scene was repeated many times as friend after friend came into town to join the celebration. I was surprised at how emotional this was for me. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t build real relationships through the social web. For most people, the networking was just as valuable as the conference content.
Author, blogger and consultant Jay Baer was a keynote speaker for the inaugural Social Slam.
The power of passion. Every speaker, panelist, moderator and worker volunteered their time and even paid their own way to present because they believed in what we were trying to accomplish — create an inclusive showcase for diverse and fresh perspectives on social media marketing. I cannot even describe how humbled I feel and indebted to these good and generous people. Yes, there is a lot of crap on the social web. But you also have the choice to surround yourself with bright lights. Here are some of the lights in my tribe that made Social Slam rock:
- Jay Baer
- Jeremy Floyd
- Anne Deeter Gallaher
- Glen Gilmore
- Amy Howell
- Jen Kane
- CK Kerley
- Billy Mitchell
- Chad Parizman
- Trey Pennington
- Shane Rhyne
- Ryan Sauers
- Jayme Soulati
- Jeremy Victor
- Tom Webster
- Brian Winter
- Deb Weinstein
Was it a success? We’re still collecting feedback, but many people commented that it was the best social media conference they have attended anywhere. We had many out of town guests who were impressed with our beautiful city of Knoxville. I’m proud that I was able to highlight deserving speakers and successfully lead this inaugural event — my primary goal. On a personal level, it was extremely rewarding to achieve something like this. It will take some time to assess what this meant for my career.
What’s next? Well, we got this ball rolling now! We’ve announced the next event for April 27, 2012 so if you missed it, mark you calendars for a truly amazing and inspirational event. And if you attended this year … well, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
Want to be a social media consultant? Here’s some advice
Apr 15th
Jay Baer was the keynote speaker at the recent Social Slam conference and I had a chance to corner him for a short video interview before one of the events.
With so many people trying their hand at being a social media consultant, I thought it would be interesting to talk to him about his personal success and where he thought this might be going next. He also covers the social media “gold rush,” his revelations while writing his first book, and a few thoughts on the {grow} community.
Hope you enjoy it and respond to Jay’s ideas in the comment section …
The 7 Fundamentals of Starting a Company Blog
Apr 14th
It’s more than ideas. It’s more than marketing. Starting a corporate blog is a commitment and should be carefully thought-through before executing.
{grow} community member Tabatha Bourguignon told me she is starting a blog for her company, Sandy Bay Networks, and asked me about the steps to take to get started. Let’s all help her out, shall we?
The technology part of it — the right look, functionality and widgets — is not that big of deal when it comes to long-term success. You can make technology do anything you want, iterate and add widgets over time. However, you can’t make HUMANS do anything you want, and that is the most-overlooked — and also the most important — aspect of starting a company blog from scratch. Let’s look at the practical political realties of building a company blog.
1) Assess the culture – Even if starting a blog is the RIGHT thing to do, it might not be the WISE thing to do if your company can’t sustain it. Are you built to blog? I was working with a company that definitely could have used a blog and other social media tools to stand out, but the culture of the company (usually dictated by the person at the top) didn’t support it. You and I are in the job of creating success with the cards we’re dealt, not wishing for another hand to play, so I moved on to other ideas. It is disastrous to try to implement plans that your company either can’t, or won’t, support at the top. If you have a resistant culutre, you need to re-trench and begin an education process, not dive into a kamikaze mission.
Another consideration is that company culture will set the tone of your blog. If you are buttoned-up and conservative, your blog will be too. If you’re customer-focused and passionate about your product, that will show through. So have a realistic expectation about the tone of the blog before going into it.
2) Align with strategy – Blogging is a marketing function. There. I said it. Before all the PR folks jump down my throat (where did that phrase come from any way?) let me explain the rationale. Assuming you didn’t get a government bailout, companies must take money from customers to exist. There will be no media relations, no press releases, no employee newsletters if the money doesn’t flow. Marketing is responsible for bringing in more money, from more people, more often. Everything in the company directly, or indirectly, supports that. Including the blog. A blog is just another way to influence people to do something. What is that? What is the ultimate call to action? What is that blog driving for over time? If you can explain that, it will help you determine how you will …
3) Measure what you treasure – Well, you ARE going to measure aren’t you? Of course you are. Without a measure of success, how would you know if you are doing better or worse? Or if you should spend more or less money on blogging? Or if you have the right people doing the blogging? Or if you are covering the right topics? Most important, when the budget axe falls some day in the future (and it will), and some outside cost-cutter visits your department and asks “what do you do?” you better have some charts to show how you are adding to stakeholder value on a daily basis.
4) Assess your resources– It’s time to get real. You know all those people who are telling you they’re going to help you with the blog? Don’t count on it! It sounds like a good idea but when it comes time to put pen to paper, many people can’t, or simply don’t deliver. What happens if key bloggers get too busy or don’t follow-through? What counter-measure do you have in place? If it’s not a compensated part of their job, it may not be reliable. How will you sustain the blog?
Also in the category of resources is assessing existing content that can be re-purposed. Get more bang for your marketing buck by using speeches, videos, slide presentations and marketing materials in your blog.
5) Look at the outside world. Talk to your customers and ask them what they would like to see on your blog. Just makes sense, but usually overlooked. What do your competitors offer? How are you going to be different?
6) Who’s in charge — The dreaded approval process is part of company life. Don’t fight it. Just make sure it is well understood before you start. You don’t want to start blogging and then have a whole new set of rules thrown at you.
7) Create a plan, then abandon it – Plot out your first 25 blog posts. How does it align with strategy? Meet customer needs? Blend with management expectations? It’s a good idea to have some sort of a plan before you start, but don’t become too wedded to it. Don’t miss what is going on all around you and all the great story ideas flying at you every day!
Whew. That’s a lot to think about, isn’t it? And I probably missed a bunch of ideas. Will you help make this a better post for everyone and all of eternity by adding your suggestions in the comment section? Thanks!
Thanks for the question Tabatha! Tabatha Bourguignon blogs at www.bantameant.blogspot.com and submitted this question through the recent B2B blogging webinar I provided through MLT Creative.
What is your strategy for social media intimacy?
Apr 13th
By Srinivas Rao, Contributing {grow} Columnist
You’ve probably heard to no end just how important relationships are in the blogosphere. The truth is in today’s age where the evolution of competition has a completely different meaning, you can’t operate inside a bubble. Connecting with people is fundamental to how your business runs. However, building relationships is a delicate and somewhat complex matter that we have to really take the time to understand before we can master the art of connecting.
Perhaps the most complex aspect of how we build relationships in the online world today is the numerous platforms that we have at our disposal. The key really to “having mad game” when it comes to connecting with people in the blogosphere is being able to understand each platform according to its level of intimacy. Let’s give each channel an intimacy rating on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being in the most intimate.
Twitter Intimacy Rating 1: Twitter truly is the cocktail party of social media. Some people are popular. Some people are not. Some are off in the corners in groups of five. But, you can walk up to anybody and say hello. However, when it comes to really deepening relationships you’re stuck in the boundaries of 140 characters and a conversation that the whole world sees. While the DM does facilitate a bit more private conversation, you’re still bound by the character limits, making it a bit challenging to form a truly deep relationship. Twitter in many ways is where relationships start and are sustained, but it’s not where they are deepened.
Blog/Blog Comments Intimacy Rating 3: Commenting on a blog is where relationships with other people start to take on a bit more depth. If we considered dating as an analogy, a comment is kind of like a first date. In some ways this is the true first impression that somebody will have of you. If you come across as a troll, it’s safe to say there won’t be a second date. But if all you do is leave a “great post” comment it’s like showing up for a date and saying “you have a nice smile” and going home. Perhaps the best way to put it is that you will get out of a comment what you put into a comment. People like Marcus Sheridan and Ingrid Abboud really get this and all we have to do is take a look at the comments on their blogs to see how true this really is.
Email Intimacy Rating 5: If you think email is dead, think again. What email offers beyond twitter and blog comments is 1 to 1 conversation with no character limits or content restrictions. You’re free to send somebody anything you want in an email and flattery will get you quite far when it’s done right. Email is actually quite intimate in the context of the online world. It’s a conversation that took place via email that resulted in the formation of BlogcastFM. A conversation that took place via email landed me here as a contributor. You simply don’t know where an email will lead you. A life coach I worked with once said “you’re always one interaction away from having the life you want.”
Facebook Intimacy Rating 7: Facebook is an interesting one. Some bloggers choose to refer people to our fan pages, while others will allow people who read their blogs to add them as a friend. It seems to be constantly evolving. What Facebook offers that some of these other tools don’t is a very visual glimpse into who you really are as a person. Look through my pictures and you’ll see at least half a dozen albums of surf photography and a handful of pictures of me surfing. While Facebook messaging has yet to do away with the need for email, it’s possible that one day we won’t be using our email addresses anymore. Facebook in many ways allows people to put together the story of who you are as a person.
Skype/Chat Intimacy Rating 8 How often do you chat with your readers or twitter followers via Skype, telephone or a medium that is not technically “social media?” In a world where we’re all defined by our avatars and status updates, the power of chat is highly underrated. These kinds of conversations are the ones that result in the kinds of online relationships that put you in a position where you have a couch to sleep on in any city in the world. When you put a voice or a face to the avatar and status updates the relationships you have online are taken to a whole new level of intimacy.
Hand Written Notes/Snail Mail Intimacy Rating 8 In a recent interview with Gini Dietrich, she made mention of the fact that Mark Schaefer actually sent hand written notes to people he wanted to build relationships with. Consider for a moment the impact that would have on you if somebody sent you a handwritten note or snail mail.
- I have a friend who to this day sends me a handwritten birthday card. While most of the world is wishing me a happy birthday on my Facebook wall, she actually emailed me to ask for my address in Costa Rica so she could send me a card. I look forward to her cards every year.
- My friend and fellow blogger Maria Brophy sent me a care package before I left for Costa Rica that included: The Surfer’s Guide to Costa Rica, a Fodor’s Guide Book, and a note that said “I’m so stoked for you. You’re going to grow 10 feet taller this year.”
- Dave Ursillo asked for my physical address so he could send me a t-shirt. It’s one of the 5 t-shirts I packed for my surf sabbatical.
There’s something about making this kind of effort that just has an innate ability to cement your relationship with somebody.
In-Person Meetings Intimacy Rating 10 If you ask anybody what the real value of conferences like Blogworld, South by Southwest, and meetups is, they’ll say the networking. Some people say you could just stand in the hallway at some of these conferences talking to people and there would still be tremendous value in that. There is an intangible value to in person meetings. After all before we lived in an age where we were all connected that’s how real relationships developed. At our root we’re social creatures.
When you start to understand the varying degrees of intimacy offered by all the platforms at your disposal, how you approach building relationships with people in the online world becomes a more powerful and different ball game. Where have your deepest connections in the online world been formed?
Srinivas Rao is a contributing writer to {grow}. You can read more of his original writing at The Skool of Life blog or listen to his podcast at BlogcastFM. Follow him on Twitter at @skooloflife
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