Seth Godin’s recent post “Delivering on never” got me thinking about mistakes. And how much I hate making them.
Seth says you can’t deliver on all “nevers.” (Read the post if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Seth is wonderfully insightful in just 87 words.) I’m not going to kid you – my initial reaction was, “Well why can’t I deliver all of them? Why can’t I just deliver perfection? How about I just never make a mistake?”
And believe me, I try. I try to never miss a deadline, leave a typo or be late for a meeting. I’ve also earned a reputation for being a control freak (though I prefer to think of it as being detail-oriented). But in reality I’ve done all three of those this week alone (admittedly, it was a bad week).
What grates me is that these mistakes are usually caused by failing to think things through, rushing through a project, a lack of attention to detail. All (mostly) preventable.
I would almost – almost – rather suffer through a major failure. Major failures mean you took a risk. You tried something new. Major failures mean there’s a lesson to be learned. The only lesson you have to learn from leaving a typo is to use spell check – and that’s most likely something you already knew.
Lucky me, those big failures are just as certain to come about as any small mistake.
I’ve found that one of the more effective ways to gauge whether a marketing campaign will compel a customer to act is to think like a human. Not a marketer, but a human being. A human being who is constantly bombarded with messages every minute of every day, and has been able to reduce these messages to a slight, bothersome buzz in the background of everyday life.
So when we (as marketers) begin to over-estimate our brand’s ability to get through that buzzing noise, take a step back. Ask yourself: would you click the link or hit delete? Watch the commercial or change the channel? Stop by the booth or divert your eyes?
Most of the time, I’m doing the latter – and so are our customers – even with brands I know and trust. The question remains, then: What are you doing differently than your competitors to cut through the buzz?
Something that’s been on my mind lately:
When you speak to your customers – through email, on the phone, or even on Twitter – are you speaking their language? Are you talking about “mobile devices” when your customers are calling them “cell phones”? (Or do they say “smart phones”? Or even “smartphones”?)
Yes, it matters.
I eat hamburgers, not ground beef patties. I wear shoes, not footwear. And, since I’m from Buffalo, I drink pop – not soda. (But that’s an argument for another day.)
Writing creative, intelligent or witty marketing copy is fine and dandy – but you have to speak the language of your customers, first and foremost. Otherwise you risk appearing pompous, snide or worse yet, completely ignorant about the very people you’re trying to talk to.
Dear Blog,
I’d like to start by sincerely apologizing for my absence. It’s time to start up again. The sad thing is, this subtle hint to your right (or would it be your left?) was written by a well-meaning friend over a year ago. But I’m finally back. I hope.
Here’s the thing about blogging: it takes time and commitment. So does just about anything else that will improve your life and well-being: eating healthier, exercising more, reading more novels, learning to play the cello, mastering a second language. But if you don’t make it a priority, it’ll never happen.
So I’m going to try to make this a priority again. To be perfectly honoest, dear Blog, I didn’t know what busy was until recently, and despite myself, my best intentions of coming back to this place have fallen flat.
Here’s to one more try.
Truly yours,
Kelly
I knew that my first job out of college wouldn’t be my last – however, knowing this doesn’t make it any less weird. Most people, at some point, change jobs. The days of the “lifer” are over, and most often, the younger you are, the quicker you move. However, I knew that I couldn’t leave before I felt I had made a significant impact. I needed to know, in a sense, that my work here was done. When I did begin to feel that I had contributed all I was meant to, I knew I had no choice but to move on.
I’ve always called work in the non-profit sector a “good karma” job. I may be barely paying the bills, but at the end of the day, I knew I made a difference. Unfortunately, the non-profit field isn’t always presented as a career choice in colleges and universities. My education, in particular, taught me that I was to take unpaid summer internships in the city (LA, Boston, New York – take your pick), then take an entry-level position at a communications agency in that same city.
I, however, fell into a different track. After an internship at a local non-profit, I began to consider the benefits of getting paid to do something personally fulfilling and beneficial to the community at large. I was fortunate enough to get hired at that same non-profit after graduation, and have been there since (that is, until this Friday).
Non-profit work needs to be presented as an option to graduating seniors. It is clear that there is work to be done to improve this world. I know, I know, the job market, the economy, the lay-offs, the budget cuts, etc. etc. As far as I can see, it’s no worse than the corporate world. Sometimes it’s even a little better.
Non-profits are usually (I venture to say “always”) under-staffed and short on resources. A recent graduate can take advantage of this – I was able to get my hands on projects that were clearly outside my job description, but great resume-building experience. I dabbled in event planning, PR, marketing, campaign execution, social media, finance, strategic planning, community relations and design – all experiences a corporate position would not have afforded me.
Now, after this life-changing, amazing experience, I’m officially ready to move on to something new: the corporate world. One friend accused of me going to the “dark side.” Not true. I can continue giving back, just in a different sort of way – I’ve gained the knowledge, resources, and most importantly, the drive to make it happen. Yes, I’ll be working in a for-profit environment. However, I will be working for a company that values volunteerism, philanthropy and community as much as I do. It was extremely important to me that I found a company whose values mirrored mine – but only because of my non-profit experience. (Two years ago, I would have said yes to Altria.)
See you on the dark side.
Let’s do a little math. (I know, math can be scary for us PR folks. It’s nothing but simple addition, I promise.) Take the number of your facebook friends and add on your Twitter followers. Now add your LinkedIn Connections, everyone in your Outlook contacts, and your cell phone address book. Now, presumably there’s some overlap, so cut that number by about half.
You’ve probably heard of Dunbar’s number – the maximum number of stable, social relationships a human can maintain. The number most often thrown around is 150—meaning humans can have 150 relationships in which he or she knows who each person is, and how that person fits in with their social circles. Chances are, that number you came up with from my not-so-scientific formula above is far beyond that. If you are close to 150, all I can say is, you’re either really, really picky about who you connect with online, or nobody likes you. If it’s the latter, I’m sorry for pointing out your unpopularity.
So how do your Facebook friends, Twitter followers and LinkedIn connections fit in with the concept of Dunbar’s number? Not very well, as far as I’m concerned. There comes a time when you reach maximum capacity as far as the ability to check every status update and tweet, let alone interact with each of those individuals. After all, I follow @ConansSquirrel on Twitter, but I can’t exactly brag to anyone that I’m BFF with the squirrel in Conan O’Brien’s backyard.
I use social media for a lot of reasons, but at the end of the day, Twitter doesn’t pour me a glass of wine and let me bitch about my day or drive me to work when I’m having car trouble. So here’s a bit of motherly advice: don’t forget your Dunbar number, and the people that actually fit within that realm.
You can not create a viral video. The act of trying to make a video viral automatically disqualifies it from ever truly being viral. User-created (read: not corporate produced) videos are made “viral” by those millions of people who busted up over Gary Brolsma’s “Numa Numa” video, watched in disbelief as Chris Crocker had a mental breakdown in support of Britney Spears, and may have personally identified with the Star Wars Kid…and then passed those videos along to their friends.
Marketing departments can absolutely create videos that have the qualities of popular viral videos, but that doesn’t make them viral. When your marketing department creates a video that’s funny, seemingly unplanned and purposely amateur in appearance and quality, it’s not viral. If millions of people see it (largely due to a sophisticated SEO plan and money to back up its promotion), it’s still not viral. It’s just popular (but usually not even as popular as real viral videos).
Just remember…we see through your fake viral videos anyways. And it feels cheap. Stop trying to dupe us and state the obvious: that you’re trying to advertise to us. We’re used to being advertised to; it doesn’t offend us. What offends us when you try to convince us that some one “just like us” made the video, instead of a multi-national corporation with a 10-person marketing department, a flip cam and 2 weeks of research and development behind it.
Why do Marketing Execs insist on the creation of “viral” video anyways? Instead, what you should focus on is producing quality material (funny optional, poignant works well, too) that will enable your consumers to connect with your company in a meaningful way. A great example is Coca-Cola’s Happiness Machine. It’s an obvious advertisement for Coca-Cola, but will leave you smiling.
I’ve been seeing a lot about the disappearance of online privacy lately. Everyone’s been tweeting (and complaining) about @pleaserobme (whose account has been suspended to strange activity). People are reconsidering Foursquare.
Really? Don’t we already know this?
Remember Kindergarten, when you were told not to talk to strangers? (Sorry, I had to.) Well, we’re all old enough to talk to strangers, but we still need to be careful. Over-sharing is the new black these days, and I’m not always sure it’s to anyone’s benefit.
Let me start by staying I. Do. Not. Care. that you’re at Joe’s Java Shack or on the corner of 5th and South. What am I supposed to do with this information? Chances are, we don’t live in the same city, and if we do, I’m not going to stalk you out and meet you there. I know, I know—so unfollow you, right? Done. (I may have already done so.) Foursquare users, I have nothing against you, but I just don’t get it. Maybe someday, like hating on sushi and Blackberrys, I’ll eat my words. Somehow I doubt it.
There seems to be this phenomenon of perceived audience versus actual audience for information shared online. I have to remind myself of this every time I sign on to Facebook and post a status. It’s not just my real-life friends (perceived audience) who are going to read it. My boss, my grandmother, kids I don’t remember from high school, and totally random people who apparently thought my profile picture wasn’t too offensive-looking may also see it (actual audience).
Yes, there are privacy settings. Yes, I have them set meticulously. But nothing posted online is ever completely private. Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V people. It’s that easy.
Similarly, I have to remind myself when I’m on Twitter that this information will be shared with THE WORLD (even though 99.9999% of the world doesn’t give a damn). Quite frankly, I don’t want the whole world knowing where I am at all times. I’m cool with a little mystery. My former roommate used to go on excursions all the time without telling anyone, and while it bugged me as her roommate, I understood the need to go off the radar for a little bit.
My rant boils down to this: if you wouldn’t tell that creepy looking guy who hangs out in your parking lot at work, maybe it’s best not to post it online. You’re allowed to talk to strangers now, but in the words of Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.”
If you’re a new visitor to my blog, welcome! If you found yourself redirected here from my “old” blog, PRreaction, thanks for coming over.
I decided to take my blog in a new direction for a couple of reasons: first, because my friend decided to buy a server and offered to host it for free (a sort of “duh” decision if you ask me) and second, because I wanted something that more accurately reflected my personal voice and creative process.
My original inspiration; photo via imgfave.com.
I’ve had a problem with the name “PRreaction” from the beginning. It was intended to mean my personal reaction to PR stories. But on a broader scale, public relations isn’t about reacting to external forces. Research, event planning, campaigns, crisis communications…it’s about knowing your industry, and having a plan in place if something does happen. So with “PRreaction” on the outs, I started brainstorming other names.
Those who have seen my desk know that I heavily rely on sticky notes to get me through the day. These perfect little square pieces of paper become phone messages, to-do lists, ideas, reminders, and…blog topics. I came across a photo of a post-it on a mirror one day, and it became obvious that I needed to do something with my sticky note habit. So with each blog post, you get to see the inspiration behind it via post-it. I’m warning you, it may not be pretty—but it will represent who I am as a person, a professional, and a *somewhat* creative person whose artistic talent rarely extends beyond stick figures.
Meanwhile, make yourself at home—follow me on Twitter, set up an RSS feed, or check out some of my older posts using the menu at the top of the page. And as always, your comments and feedback are welcome.
I recently attended an incredibly eye-opening program on internal social media policy, and I have to tell you, it wasn’t for the nervous nillies (dare I say weak-hearted?) managers out there who wish they could outright ban employee social media use. Get this: a lawyer—from a reputable law firm, with an “Esq.” after his name, and no, he hasn’t appeared in any “Heavy Hitters” commercials that I know of—advised NOT to outright ban social media. Can I get an #OMG?!
Social media in the workplace is a messy issue, but fear of the unknown should never dictate office policy. An organization that does not educate its employees on the risks and rewards of social media and encourage responsible usage is doing itself a huge disservice. This is particularly true when the organization itself has a Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook account of its own. Why should outsiders follow, watch or comment when internal employees aren’t allowed to?
An employee misusing social media to the detriment of an organization is a staff issue, not an IT issue. The funny thing is, you probably already have a policy in place in the form of a code of ethics, standards of conduct, or some other HR document (which may be available on that thing nobody visits…the intranet, they call it?). If employees aren’t allowed to yell trade secrets or client information on the street corner, they aren’t allowed to tweet that information, either. When an issue does arise (because it will), what needs to be emphasized is the message, not the medium.
Examples I’ve seen of social media use gone awry are often the result of a misinformed or uneducated employee. An employer would do well to make it clear to employees that any public information on their social media profiles is public to everyone, not just their intended audience. This includes supervisors, board members, clients, donors, and future employers (and these days, who knows how soon the “future” may be). Just as an employee is expected to take responsibility for their actions IRL, they should be expected to take responsibility for online actions as well.
Or you could just tell employees that if they wouldn’t want their grandma seeing it (WARNING: may be offensive to some readers…and hilarious to others), maybe it’s best to keep quiet.
