Tell me what you want - what you really, really want

That Spice Girls song popped into my head when I was looking for a title for today's posting. Sorry!

But seriously - when it comes to connecting with your customers either through your website, email marketing, social media and even face-to-face conversation, you have to offer them more than just a 'deal'. Today's consumers are concerned about the price points but they are also very interested in a developing a stronger relationship with products and services you provide. Is your company offering this kind of engagement with your clients and customers?

As a Media Coach and Consultant in Calgary, Alberta, I encourage clients to use Social media as a tool to create this kind of engagement. Social media, when done properly is key in developing deeper relationships with customers.

eMarketer.com just published this interesting statistic from the US:



Notice how customers want to know about specials, features and services. This information is like currency to your customers.

If you have read any of my Blog posts, you will see a recurring theme: use social media. Social Media may not be the primary solution for the success of every business, but it can bring new customers through your doors - and I am pretty sure you want that to sustain the growth of your business. Some companies are fortunate to have a full-time staff of social media experts who are responsible for creating and implementing these new forms of social media engagement. However if your company is new to social media or struggling to understand how to maximize your footprint in this new media, you simply need to look around and ask for help. There are many social media experts who are willing and able to assist you with your learning curve.

So tell me what you want - what you really, really want.

-Darren

Social Media: The Mothership for Local content

For many years, I used to prepare my local radio show using information I found in newspapers, television shows I watched and stories I learned from my friends. This was many years before the home computer and the world wide web. For many years, the traditional media employed similar methods to locate and source content for their respective operations.

In case you have not noticed, we are not in Kansas anymore!

You do not have to wait for content to be delivered to you via radio, television or newspaper. We have rapidly become reliant on the high speed access to content at our fingertips.
You want pizza delivery, order online from their website.
You want to find a review from last nights concert that was not in the newspaper, check to see what your friends are saying on Facebook.
You want to find if your friend arrived home safely, send them a text message.

Social Media is the 'mothership' for local content. Social media has empowered each and every user with the ability to communicate and broadcast a message without time or editorial restrictions like traditional media. I agree there is a lot of content being published on social media that I constitute as rubbish, but one persons trash is another persons gold. And just like traditional media, we have the ability to flip the page or change the channel if we find something we are not interested in.

Am I suggesting that the new on-line Social media will replace all current forms of media and make radio, television and newspaper extinct? No.

The new on-line media is creating interesting new challenges for traditional media but they, too, are faced with a unique opportunity for rebirth and continued life.

Imagine; your 'daily newspaper' delivered fresh to your desktop or smart phone but instead of just one paper, you are able to view many real time updates from news organizations you have preselected. This is a reality.

Imagine; your favorite radio station not only plays what you want but creates on-line engagement by responding and reacting to topics being published by their fans (like you) on Facebook or Twitter. This is a reality.

Imagine; you can contribute a story to the television news by recording a video on your smart phone from a local community event and emailing it to the television station. This is a reality.

Traditional media outlets are looking for new ways to find engagement with their audience. Might I suggest taking a serious look at the impact of social media. There appears to be a lot of engaged people around the world...all broadcasting and rebroadcasting local content each and every day.

Social Media = two words
Social - to create two-way communication
Media - the ability to broadcast to the masses

-Darren

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Selecting the most effective spokesperson

Congratulations. With your new Promotion comes the extra responsibility of being your company spokesperson. Are you the right person for this job?

The transitioning economy brought many of these changes to the workforce in recent months and created a need for many companies to look for the perfect candidate to be the new company mouth-piece. In some cases, companies who were once fully staffed with Public Relations and Communications departments are now looking within to find replacements to these positions after corporate restructuring and downsizing. So, who is the right representative for your company?

At quick glance, you can easily discover those who love their new position and are engaged with other staff and departments, but they are not necessarily the perfect candidate. Surely there must be someone that has a pleasant speaking voice and presents well in the public. Perhaps the person that is best suited in the role as company 'spokesperson' is (in fact) you.

Who is best qualified to be a spokesperson at your company:
1) Someone who is keenly aware of your company's operations or the department they represent.
2) A person who speaks confidently and is respected be their peers for their communication skills.
3) An individual who remains calm during crisis and will most likely deliver your key message to the media under pressure.
4) The multi-tasker. I call this person 'the one who knows just enough about what is going on to be dangerous'. Yes, this is similar to point number 1 above.
5) Someone with a flexible schedule. As a spokesperson, you may have to make presentations to media or shareholders at times that are not convenient to your regular schedule. Being available during 'off-hours' goes a long way in demonstrating and improving your company's customer service.

Take a look around your office. Take stock of your surroundings and the talented staff you have working with you. I am sure you will find the right person for the job as your new spokesperson.

-Darren

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How you can support the citizens in Haiti

I have quickly gathered a list of organizations who are accepting donations to help in the efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake on Tuesday January 12, 2010.

Red Cross Canada

Red Cross US

Salvation Army Canada

World Vision

Ofxam

Yele

Yele Haiti is a movement led by Wyclef Jean that is helping to bring hope back to Haiti. Projects are designed to make a difference in the fields of education, health, environment and community development. Yele Haiti (previously known as the Wyclef Jean Foundation) is a 501 (3) tax exempt charitable organization

Musician Wyclef Jean, who grew up in Haiti is using social media to reach out for support. His plea on Twitter has been broadcast around the world.

wyclef: Help Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate $5 by texting YELE to 501 501 right now

While that number is working in the United States, it is not available in Canada. MuchMusic offered this alternative on Twitter:

MuchMusic: 501501 doesn't work for Canadians, but you can still donate on the Yele website, or $5 to the Salvation Army by texting 'Haiti' to 45678

If I have missed any other legitimate organizations that are collecting financial aid for citizens of Haiti, please leave a comment.

Thanks for your support.
-Darren

I am not a spokesperson nor do I endorse any of the organizations listed above. This is just a small way of lending my support.

How to get out of a sticky situation

We have become fixated on celebrities in the news; Britney Spears, David Letterman, Tiger Woods. Some have been successful in negotiating their way through a sticky situation - others, have not.

Are you and your employees prepared to defuse a 'situation' or crisis when it occurs in your business or organization?

In November, 2009 all eyes turned to the Tiger Woods story and his refusal to make comment other than a few statements on his website. Instead of stepping forward and using the media to his advantage and taking controlling the situation, Tiger went deeper into hiding while the story exploded around him. Read my blog posting from this event.

You do not want this to happen to you.

John Baldoni is a leadership consultant, coach, and speaker. He is the author of eight books, including Lead Your Boss, The Subtle Art of Managing Up. And John writes a blog for Harvard Business Review.
Click here to read his blog on how you can recover from bad communications.

When crisis occurs at your business, use the media to your advantage and acknowledge the problem. Hiding from the truth will only delay the agony of the truth.

-Darren

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Hey media, Look over here! Tips to building Media Relations

12,000 fire victims receive warm Christmas dinner.

That grabbed your attention.

A strong headline is necessary to grab the attention of the media and the public, but you first have to grab the attention of the media to help you reach the public.

Building strong Media Relations
1) Who are you
It is very important to first know who you are, the product you offer and who is your target audience. From here, create a media strategy that will enable you to reach your consumer.

2) Know your Media options
Take a look at all the media organizations in your community, or if you are a national company, look at all your global media options. What media operations connect with your target audience? Take your time and do your research on this one. Media trends are rapidly changing and you need to be on top of these changes to effectively engage your audience.

3) Media contacts
In addition to knowing who to contact to place an advertising order with your local media outlets, it is also important to get to know who is in charge of content. News Directors, News Editors, Program Directors; these are all people you should reach out and network with. You can usually find their contact information on their company website or try a simple phone call to the main switchboard. Politely explain who you are and who you are trying to reach.

4) Offer something unique
Armed with your list of media contacts, give them a reason to contact you or become interested in your company and your product. Are you a specialist that could provide useful comment and content for their media operation? This is something that is unique to them and provides you with an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with your local media.

5) Leave them wanting more
If your company is launching a brand new product or service during a splashy media blitz, launch with your well planned statements, graphs, pictures and presentations. The key; less is more. Leave the media wanting more. To ensure the media has as much background and information about your launch, it is also wise to present them with printed documentation to support your company, product and/or services. Be sure each 'media kit' also includes a contact name and information along with a web site address.

6) Do not give up
Building a strong relationship with media is just like real life relationship building - it takes time. Be patient. Do not be offended if you have not received a returned phone call or email immediately after you first make contact with your media list. Have you seen the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams"? Remember the famous line; If you build it, they will come. If you have something they (the media) can use, they will contact you.

To receive more tips and consultation on how to use the media more effectively, please contact me directly.

-Darren

What you say can and will come back to haunt you

Yesterday I cautioned against publishing everything - the good, the bad and the ugly on social media sites. Everything you broadcast (publish) is viewed and shared with the world. It is also a reflection of your character and in some cases, can reflect your employer.

Thanks to a few readers, they have pointed me to similar updates and examples from a few other sources.

Lamebook is a site which gathers and publishes Facebook status updates that are, well, distasteful. Thanks to Lamebook for the picture you see above.

I also found Guyism which published a list of the 7 things you should never say through social media.

Face it, we all like to go out and have a good time, meet new friends and chat about our lives. Now with social media, there are a lot more people watching, reading, responding and reacting to your every word.

Thanks to Jon and Radana for their input.

-Darren

Social Media - The Effect on your Employer

It is a simple rule to remember; what you broadcast on your social media sites is a reflection of your employer.

What? How can that be? Surely you are free to broadcast whatever you want on your personal social media sites without permission from your boss. Right? Yes and No.

With the global reach of the Internet, the content you broadcast, the pictures you upload and the tone of what you broadcast becomes a reflection of your boss and the company you are employed.

Still not convinced? Here are two fictitious scenarios:

1) John is an employee of a National Automobile company and is well known for his Sales records over the last 6 months. However, one night John got into an on-line discussion and released private information about the company that he is working for and mentioned in his conversation "do not buy a vehicle from us".

2) Jennifer is employed at a community coffee shop where she knows all of the local patrons by their first name. Jennifer likes to go out with her friends, have a few too many drinks and post pictures of herself and her friends in various states of intoxication.

If you were John or Jennifer's boss, what would you do when one of your best customers brought this to your attention and showed you the on-line postings?

In John's case, he would most likely be looking for a new line of work or would be removed from his current role as top sales person to janitor.
Jennifer, on the other hand, would most likely be in a better position to keep her job.

Just as this blog is a representation of my Company, what I broadcast 'after hours' is a reflection of who I am and my company.

Are your employees aware of this? Perhaps they should be reminded.
At the present, there is no legal precedent for social media and employee privacy in Canada. However many companies are adopting a social media code of conduct and require all employees to adhere to these guidelines.


Have a great day.
-Darren

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Where has all the good news gone?

Surely there must be something good to talk about in the world today, or have we become trained by the media to read and hear only bad news?

When I say bad news, I am referring to stories about people losing their jobs, soldiers being killed, people dying in natural disasters, and even celebrity mishaps.

Sadly, the truth is; bad news is very effective for media. Bad news grabs the attention of readers, listeners and viewers to every media stream and it that creates revenue and ratings.

Where does that leave the good news? Media is looking for these stories - they just need a little help finding this content. That is where you come in.

Traditional media operations around the Globe are running with fewer and fewer staff members which means fewer people who are able to spend time sorting through all of the potential news stories of the day. As a result, some of the good news stories end up as trash because they either did not meet the criteria of that media operator or they simply ran out of time and resources.

In the online world, there are limitless opportunities to broadcast these good news stories. On your website, blog, video blog, email, and all the social media sites.

While I am not suggesting to turn your back on traditional media and create your own on-line media empire (which some are already predicting this outcome), use the tools available to you to broadcast your good news stories and share with the traditional media outlets. Engaging content no matter the source is always going to be engaging content. Create a reason for others to take notice and we will get to enjoy a little good news today.

Enjoy.
-Darren

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January Promotion: FREE Consultation

To celebrate the start of a new year, I am excited to announce an exciting promotion for the month of January 2010.

Speak Media Consulting is growing. To assist you and your business develop stronger and more effective communication with your clients through the media, I am excited to announce a very special offer:

6 Hour FREE Media Consultation

Speak Media Consulting offers a variety of coaching and consultation services all to help you develop measurable engagement with your target audience. Do you want to learn how to use social media more effectively? Do you want to learn how to use the traditional media (Radio, Television, Newspaper) more effectively? Do you know how to manage the media in a crisis? Do you want to become a more effective public speaker and media personality? I will work with you and your staff and provide a FREE 6 hour coaching and consultation package, AND provide one month of email or telephone support.

This offer is available to you as a valuable recipient of my email newsletters. This offer is also available to all new email sign-ups in the month of January. On February 1, 2010, I will randomly select one name from my email database and award this coaching and consultation package. Approximate value: $2000.

Click here to sign up to be eligible for this special promotional offer.

Forward to a Friend BONUS:
At the risk of sounding like a Television infomercial, this January FREE offer gets even better! Forward this to a friend and you could also receive a free bonus.

On February 1, 2010 when I select one lucky winner for this January FREE offer, I will ask who referred them to sign up to this free promotion. If you were the person who referred the winner, you will receive a complimentary 1-hour FREE Media Consultation designed to meet the challenges faced by your current media messaging.

Sign up now to receive my email newsletter and take advantage of this January FREE offer.

Good luck, and thanks for reading.

-Darren