Cross-posted on The Buzz Bin.

The Wall Street Journal listed Now Is Gone as a resource today for “… companies [trying to] build buzz even when marketing budgets are small.” Thanks to Scott Monty for including Now Is Gone in his interview.

Other resources listed by Scott:

• MarketingProfs Daily Fix
• Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• What’s Next Blog by B.L. Ochman
• PR Squared’s Jedi Training for PR 2.0 Tactics
• For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report
• “The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media” by Paul Gillin
• “The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly” by David Meerman Scott

This past Tuesday, the 2008 SXSW Interactive Festival adjourned. Unfortunately, my employer felt SXSWi too expensive and unworthy for me to attend 7-11 March. Why spend money to attend a conference about social networking tools when I use many of these tools and virtually interact daily with several of the conference attendees already? Luckily, on my own time and dime, I was able to obtain a day pass and attend Monday, 10 March, events. 

Upon my return I was asked by another conference attendee if I would have paid $500 to attend SXSW for the networking benefit excluding speakers/panels . My immediate answer was “Of course!” The enchantment of a day meeting social media mavens and awe of being a kid in a candy store has worn off a bit and I have reconsidered my answer to the question. I am still digesting Monday’s conversations, the SXSWi Twemes, live blogging, and podcasts posted during the conference week.

The panels, speakers and evening events are conversation starters. Kami Huyse, SXSWi Future of Corporate Blogs panel speaker, reflects why conferences are more than just free cocktails and bs, “I always learn a great deal from the attendees when I present at these conferences.  There are a lot of challenging questions and interactions that help to shape and energize my thinking. I am sure that teaching is one of the best ways to refine old ideas and develop new ones.  In fact, I wonder if presenters don’t learn more than attendees from these things.”

There will always be the bobble heads in the room lacking original thought and agreeing with everything and everyone. At SXSWi, I encountered more stimulating conversation than followers. Without the panels and speakers I would not have been introduced to new ideas and thoughts from those outside my circle.

Photo courtesy melody.gates.

To start the week I will be speaking and liveblogging on WordPress.com for my client the Human Capital Institute in Phoenix (see picture of summit host The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa). The 2008 Human Capital Summit covers the movement from traditional HR administration towards fostering talent management  as the new lever for market success. Liveblogging has its unique role at such an event.

First and foremost, liveblogging can create an air of excitement at an event, not only for attendees, but also for extended members of the HCI community. Other benefits liveblogging offers:

• Google juice for the event
• Recorded history of the event
• Helps an organizations and companies see social media at work
• Better retention of information for the liveblogger (I personally hope to gain a lot as an exec who runs his own companies. HCI revolves around reinventing the organization around talent and to communicate the value driven by cutting-edge talent practices to investors and other stakeholders.).

Their are many philosophies and beliefs on the best ways to liveblog. Here’s some of my favorite tips based on my experiences as a sole liveblogger.

1) Pre-identify who and what you want to cover. For example, after the keynote and first session, I will crash the video interviews of many speakers and give readers an inside scoop on their thoughts. Also do a little research on speakers in advance.

2) Have camera, will travel. Make sure you have comfortable gear for your camera so its readily accessible and can be used easily. My neck strap was bought for just these situations. Also be sure to have all of the necessary cables and pretest your equipment. Visuals are critical to great blogging, and you must be able to quickly add photos to each story.

3) Write, read and send: Don’t overthink the writing. You are a scribe in the ancient Egyptian sense, analysis is great, but in reality people just want to know the prescient points. Read through the script after writing, and send. Don’t over-edit. You come back that night and clean it up. If you are truly liveblogging, your job is to get the posts up almost as quickly as events happen.

4) Be flexible: Livebloggers get called into all sorts of weird situations. “Cover this, write that, don’t take my photo.” Just roll with it, and have fun.

5) Headlines matter. Like any blog post, be creative and try to get folks interested. Liveblogging can be an entry point for larger engagement with the subject matter and/or organization.

6) Don’t kill yourself. After three or four posts, you’ll be tired. Take that break. No one needs to be Brett Favre.

7) Limit your tools. Don’t overdo it. You can’t vlog, podcast, blog and tweet an event. Or at least you can’t do all of it well. Choose your most comfortable tools and execute well. For me, writing, photos, and maybe a couple of podcast chats.

Ethan Zuckerman’s right (any real liveblogger should read this excellent treatise). Sit in the back or on the side. Make sure you scope out where the outlets are so you can keep optimal battery levels throughout the event.

Last week I spoke at the Public Relations Society of America’s Ft. Worth chapter. The effort included a 2.5 hour discussion of social media based on the book. Here’s the PPT. It seems like SlideShare doesn’t like Office 2007, but all of the content is there.

So many marketers think that blogging’s the first step in social media (image credit: Lego blogger by minifig).  As indicated last week, on the contrary, blogging should not be the first step. Further, it may not ever be the right step for a company for a variety of reasons:

• Time from a resource perspective: Some companies just can’t commit to the long, weekly grind that blogging demands.
• Time from a results perspective: Others may not have six months to a year to get results. Community development and readership requires more than just a blog launch.
• Blogging may not be the right platform: In some cases, the community’s conversation may be occurring in other venues, like social networks. Or vis a vis video and podcasts.
• Subject is anti-social: Company or organization’s subject matter expertise does not lend itself to a conversation. Examples, defense industry (go missiles!), manufacturer of simple goods or singular products like philips screwdrivers, .
• The required social networking to make a blog successful may be too much: Let’s face it. 2008 is not 2003. It’s not a special event to have a blog and getting one socialized requires an enormous effort. 

Research and understanding ones own

For example, at Thursday’s Forth Worth PRSA session on social media, we went through the draft Social Media Content Creation Process with a local arts organization. In our research, it became apparent that there’s not a vibrant blogging community for the arts in Forth Worth, but Facebook is a different matter. As a result, we decided to develop a Facebook community strategy instead of blogging.

Blogging offers a great series of advantages, from SEO and thought leadership to lead capture (through calls-to-action) and community development. At the same time, it’s not a panacea.

Many folks ask how to go about creating social media for their company. As a service to the industry, find here an open source version of a draft social media content development process.

This process is general enough to guide development of specific initiatives. It does not recommend blogging or video, per say. Rather the process allows content creation to move towards the market’s needs, and within the company’s resources. There are 14 steps in all:

1) Clearly articulate who your stakeholders are before you begin.

2) Clearly articulate the key issues these stakeholders care about as it relates to your offering. Use a bulleted list with no more than three or four words per item.

3) Begin by researching which, if any, top bloggers are discussing these issues. Use your bulleted list to search. The following are good places to start…

• Technorati
• Del.icio.us
• Google Blogsearch
• Ask.com Blogsearch

4) Inevitably, any substantial subject matter area has a back channel where top bloggers and influencers chat. For example, PR and marketing bloggers and tend to connect on Facebook, Twitter, and to some extent, LinkedIn. This back channel can yield powerful connections to highly influential minds who may not have blogs with top statistical ranking.

Marketers looking to find their subject area’s back channel should start with a basic search. Once your initial search yields important blogs, please visit them and note which social networks the bloggers use to connect. Join their communities. And learn what your stakeholders really care about.

5) Don’t just observe, participate. Comment on blogs and social networks in a non-promotional way. Become part of the community.

6) Note several things in your research:

1. Top industry issues
2. Top bloggers/thought leaders that write about your issues (you will need these for marketing purposes after your content creation process is done)
3. Preferred content forms (video, white papers, blogs, podcasts)
4. Ideal places to connect with the larger industry (social networks, etc.)
5. Other companies playing in the space: Who’s successful, who isn’t? Why?
6. Behavioral norms.

Write this information down in a formal analysis.

7) Using the analysis of your social media marketplace, identify the outcomes the organization would like to achieve. These outcomes will determine the measurement benchmarks once the company decides on its preferred communication tools. Possibilities include:

• Influence
• Awareness/changed perception on a particular issue
• Third party credibility through Word of mouth
• Brand awareness
• Return on investment (sales)

8 ) Identify the company’s value for the marketplace. Specifically, the organization’s subject matter expertise as it relates to the top industry issues currently being discussed amongst bloggers and thought leaders.

• Can the company provide enough information to add to the conversation?
• If so, is it enough to consistently be a part of the conversation, or is it limited in nature? Will it only be valuable for a short time?
• Can the organization afford to give away this information or does the information comprise trade secrets?

9) Based on the company/organization’s value offering and the marketplace’s issues and needs, draft an editorial mission to serve the community/stakeholders. For example, here is the Now Is Gone blog editorial mission:

Continue serving as a primer for those business executives new to social media or considering engaging with these new communications tools. The conversation should be educational, pragmatic and weigh the pros and cons of social media to provide an authentic, genuine viewpoint of social media marketing. We believe in social media’s potential to better communications, but do not think it will replace traditional tactics. Instead we believe social media will be integrated into the larger marketing mix and may influence change in other disciplines.

10) Now examine the company’s resources:

• Time
• Thought leaders
• Technical capability and savoir faire: Blog, audio, video, social networking
• Financial resources for some of the above, plus graphic design, SEO, web hosting, application development

11) Select the outreach mechanism(s) that best fits the industry’s preferred content needs (#6), can achieve outcomes (#7) the ability to convey the company’s ability to deliver value through it’s editorial mission (#8 and 9), and that the company can afford to invest in (#10).

There are Many, Many mechanisms. Each has its assets and detriments. And blogging is not a cure all silver bullet solution. Consider these more popular initiatives:

• Launch a blog
• Execute a blogger relations program
• Podcast
• Create video(s)
• Develop social network community
• Create social network application
• Build your own social network
• Build a widget

12) Determine who will create the content. Group efforts can help distribute load as well as protect the company from an individual departure. Assign a schedule and make the person responsible. Participation in larger networks should be part of your content development plan and resource allocations.

13) Select general content categories to provide guidance on a weekly basis (if the effort is ongoing). Remain flexible to allow for larger industry and community events.

14) Determine measurement based on outcomes, social media communication vehicle(s), and dedicated effort the company intends to commit to the effort. Select tools to attain measurement. Tools and measurement can vary greatly. Research what is right for you and your effort. Some are free, some are not.

“It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!”

I am a big fan of novels, Fahrenheit 451 and Anthem. The dystopian universes described are always at the bleeding edge of becoming reality. Book burning for fear of knowledge and dissension, the deletion of ‘I’ and praise for collectivism rationale bubble up to the surface when the phrase “social media” is uttered in some companies.

dis-sen-sion n. Difference of opinion; disagreement. American Heritage Dictionary

Don’t be afraid. Embrace dissension.

• Seek dissension in your company and consumer forums.
• Connect with adversaries as well as advocates. Participate in conversations to seek full understanding of motivation and behavior of consumers.
• Distribute the information gathered from social media forums throughout your company. Shed light on the true feelings of your consumers. Those conversations taking place in dark corners lead to dark deeds and outcomes.
• Report back to the consumers accurate information and your plan of action.
• Vocalize and walk the talk.

Dissent is not negative. Change the context of how you think of dissent. Your company reputation is on the line. Discussion not always following the party line may raise corrective actions to concerns. Put meat on the bones of a great idea or stop  bad execution in its tracks. Dissent will remove the rose colored glasses and reveal a broader understanding of how your company and consumer think and interact with each other. Novel concept.

Take your phone directory and organizational charts to the next level. How many hidden jewels of talent exist in your organization?

Employee personalized Intranet home page

Think social networks. Encourage employees to post pictures for easier recognition. Their home page may include:

• highlights of resume
• job title and description
• supervisor
• work affiliations
• project group pages

Don’t know the POC for direct mail? Use your Intranet search engine to find the experience you need. This degree of exposure may be uncomfortable. It is important to have transparent governance to set minds at ease and embrace the benefits of improved internal communications and potential career growth.

Find the right people to be in the right job at the right time.

There are instances of people being placed in jobs not matching their skill sets. Human Resources should comb through the Intranet as a first resource to find talent. This exposure will also help you identify gaps in knowledge. Use this tool as a barometer for training and recruiting.

Succession planning is important to the success of your company. Encourage management to use the Intranet to seek out potential candidates to mentor.  There are diamonds, emeralds and rubies just waiting to be discovered.

On Saturday, February 16 from 1-5 p.m., I will moderate four consecutive one hour sessions on Now Is Gone for the my ooVoo day project. If you can’t catch me on the road, this is the perfect opportunity to have a deep dive on social media and how it can benefit your organization.

Here’s how it works, visit the my ooVoo day project site and sign up. You’ll download the software (for Mac or PC - both are still in beta). We are limited to five people in each session so don’t wait too long!

ooVoo is thanking us by sponsoring the the Frozen Pea Fund, a fund established to support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign, in honor of blogger, Twitterer and cancer patient Susan Reynolds. Thanks to Scott Monty for inviting me to participate in this great project!

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I’ll be out and about quite a bit over the next few months, and hope to meet up with some of you.  The following is my speaking and conference schedule this winter/spring:

1. General Dynamics Information Technology Marketing Meeting (private), lunch keynote on Social Media, February 1
2. Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (attending): February 10-12
3. PRSA Ft. Worth’s Professional Development Day on New/Social Media, running/speaking for all day conference: February 21
4. Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association, speaking on social media: February 27
5. MarketingProfs B2B 2.0 Expo, panel on B2B uses of Social Media,  online: March 5
6. PRSA National Capital Chapter, lunch speaker in Tysons Corner, VA: March 6
7. Human Capital Institute’s National Human Capital Summit in Phoenix, panelist on Attracting and Retaining the New Economy Workforce: GenX and Y (using social media), March 10
8. MarketingProfs Online Seminar, presenting Re-Engineering marketing for a Social Media World: March 13
9. Blogger Social ‘08, New York City (attending): April 4-6
10. New Communications Forum in Sonoma, CA, two sessions with Kami Huyse: April 22-25
11. BlogPotomac in Falls Church, VA, host: June 13

Plus Brian Solis and I will likely do an event or two for Now Is Gone.  I hope to meet many of you over the next few months!