Archive for year 2012
How do you know if your blog is making an impact?
Oct 23rd
About two years ago, I was really down on my blogging.
I would work hard on something that I thought was really smart and provocative and it would just fall flat. And then I would put out something dumb like “The 20 Funniest things you can do on Twitter” and it would go viral. It didn’t make any sense. It was disheartening.
I felt like my hard work was going nowhere. Maybe you feel that way sometimes too?
No matter how much you stare at your Google Analytics, it’s not going to interpret for you whether anybody cares about your blog.
Even comment sections aren’t much help.
A rule of thumb is that only about 2 percent of your readers leave comments. That’s a generalization I have found that holds up across many types of blogs. Readers may be too busy, too shy, or just not interested enough to comment. So you need a LOT of readers before you start getting comments.
Drastic action
In addition to only hearing from a vast minority of your readers, there is a big difference between a “comment” on the topic and real “feedback” on how you are doing as blogger – if you are making a dent in the way people act and think.
I realized that if I was going to make truly meaningful connections with these strangers popping in on my blog and figure out if this thing was having any impact, I was going to have to make an effort to get to know them better. So, I started to call up my readers.
I made a goal to call at least three of my blog readers per week over a period of a couple of months and by far the overwhelming lesson I learned was yes — I was having an impact, in so many unexpected ways.
I’ll never forget a call I had with Caroline Di Diego, a businesswoman and entrepreneur who had left so many interesting comments on my blog. She told me in great detail how one quite obscure blog post I had written had changed her outlook on business and marketing. Although the post had run two years ago, she could still recall its lessons and it still impacts her even to this day.
This conversation meant so much to me, because I had been particularly proud of that blog post but it had not been a popular post in terms of how much it had been shared. In fact, I was so disappointed by the reaction to this thoughtful post that I wondered why I was blogging at all.
A re-energizing impact
Caroline’s reaction — and the reaction of so many others — gave me a new energy, a new commitment to blogging, because these conversations made me realize that even though I might not hear it every day, I am having an impact.
I recently recounted how one physician who averaged just 4.5 readers a day found out that she had impacted a life.
My point is, if you’re working hard on your blog, it may be difficult to know if you are really having an impact unless you reach out and actually talk to people about it.
What has your experience been? Are you making an impact and how do you know?
Illustration: I added the WordPress logo to a Bigstock.com illustration
Will the social web fuel international cooperation or catastrophe?
Oct 21st
I recently read the fascinating book Outliers
People from different regions have many subtle communication habits that combine to create breakdowns when styles collide. So should we expect this to happen as an everyday occurrence in our online world?
Inevitable cultural collisions
Gladwell’s book highlights research revealing the vast depth of these differences and the catastrophic implications when there are even small misunderstandings. One case study illustrated how cultural communication differences resulted in a tragic plane crash when a South Korean style that is deferential to authority clashed with the style of busy New York air traffic controllers bossing people around. In fact, Gladwell points out that regional communication patterns alone might be the root cause for many deadly accidents.
I was thinking about how this remarkable observation applies to an online world where regional barriers have been removed and we have the opportunity to have daily communications with people from all over the world. If catastrophes occur in the highly-controlled world of air traffic control, what are the implications when people from other cultures try to connect and understand each other through tweets and posts completely lacking in context, tone, and cross-cultural understanding? Are we entering a world where international collisions are the norm?
I’ve written about the optimism I have about the Internet being a unifying force for understanding, especially if we are talking in the global language of “Facebook.” But after reading Outliers, I began to wonder about the massive disconnects that must be occurring … but do we even realize it?
We’re all ambassadors
About 50 percent of the readers of {grow} are from outside the United States and I am absolutely paranoid about offending somebody. Before publishing any post I try to sift through any obscure terms or colloquialisms that might be misconstrued or misunderstood. I try to filter my “humor” to some extent and examine my posts through a global lens before hitting the “publish” button.
But here’s the reality. I am almost certainly confusing and offending people no matter what I do because I’m not sure if there is really an effective way to “write global.”
As we propel ourselves into a world of increasing global communication collisions, don’t you think we could all benefit from a course on how to be effective Internet citizens? It seems like anybody who signs on for a Facebook account or a WordPress blog site should be required to understand what they are getting into.
If the Internet is going to truly serve as a force for unity instead of catastrophe, shouldn’t we all take the time to figure out how to do it well? And what does that even mean? How do we create some buffer of understanding around us to minimize the inevitable cross-cultural collisions?
The reference to Outliers
New program focuses on non-profit digital leadership
Oct 20th
In a few weeks, I’m going to be teaching in an exciting break-through program focused on social media and non-profits and I wanted to let you know about it.
Rutgers University is offering the world’s first Mini-MBA program on Social Media for Non-Profit Leaders and Public Officials. The inaugural program will be held Nov. 12-16, 2012, at the Rutgers Center for Management Development (CMD) in New Brunswick, NJ.
This program is going to feature some blockbuster content:
Social Media Strategies
- Build deep citizen-centric relationships and enhance your organizations online presence through the latest tools, techniques and Social Media strategies
Mobile Engagement
- Discover the powerful reach and exciting advancements in mobile technology including geo-targeted notifications and augmented reality
Emergency Management and Social Media
- Leverage digital media in the event of an emergency and integrate social media channels with public input into the system to develop and improve real time response rates in crisis situations
Digital Transformations and Leadership
- Understand the theory behind Social Media and how it represents a radical shift from traditional communications
Economic Development – Socialnomics
- Explore how to utilize Social Media to promote economic development, tourism and redevelopment.
Privacy and Security Issues with Social Media
- Examine the concepts of privacy and security in the field of Social Media
Listening Channels in Social Media
- Master the use of listening posts and online analytics to monitor, engage and empower the new digital audience
Social Sharing of Video
- Understand the critical means of engaging and informing constituents of important announcements, public service broadcasts and news
ROI Measurement of Social Media Strategies
- Learn Google analytics to measure constituent traffic, analyze successful incoming campaigns and learn from visitor traffic patterns
Online PR Strategies
- Analyze how traditional press releases differ from digital releases and how to optimize and track online results.
Building your Social Media Toolkit
- Explore tools and tactics such as micro blogging sites for “real time” updates such as weather related announcements, snow removal, delayed openings and more: Improving constituent services and relations with Social Media
Community Engagement
- Develop a vibrant and connected community of constituents through Social Media channels
In addition, three New Jersey corporations will participate in the first day of the program by presenting real-world “cause marketing” case studies. These corporations collaborated with the non-profit sector or public sector on missions aligned with their corporate strategy and goals.
There is an all-star line-up of faculty members preparing this program including CK Kerley, Glen Gilmore, Mike Moran, Rob Petersen and Greg Jarboe.
Space in the first Rutgers Mini-MBA: Social Media for Non-Profit Leaders and Public Officials program is limited. Contact Rutgers CMD immediately regarding discounts for non-profit organizations, corporate sponsorships, and Rutgers alumni. This program has been approved by the New Jersey Department of Labor for workforce training grants. Funding may be available for those receiving unemployment benefits.
If you’re a leader in the non-profit space, i hope I’ll see you at this innovative and exciting program!
The True Meaning Behind the Red Bull Space Dive. a {growtoon}.
Oct 19th
Join the growtoonists each Friday for a humorous take on marketing, social media, and current business events.
Joey Strawn is a social media strategist that loves enjoying a good book and then drawing in it. Check him out on Twitter: @joey_strawn
Welcome to {grow}
You’re in marketing for one reason: Grow.
Grow your company, reputation, customers, impact, profits. Grow yourself. This is a community that will help. It will stretch your mind, connect you to fascinating people, and provide some fun along the way. I am so glad you’re here.
-Mark SchaeferFollow Mark
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