Monthly Archives: December 2009
3 Things I’m Grateful For This Year
It’s been a crazy year for everyone. Ups and downs across the board and I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t excited to close the book on ’09 and take a leap into the new decade. “Back to basics” has certainly taken on new meaning amidst full-fledged tech advances every day.
A trek back to Hickory, NC to briefly unplug and visit my family always helps put things in perspective and gives me some downtime to reflect on what’s important in life – must be the absence of constant sirens rolling through the ‘hood that has some effect. So, in brief, a quick look back at 3 things I’m grateful for this year.
3. My Job
I’ve mentioned it before but I truly do feel lucky to not just have a job, but a job that I love. I currently get to come in each day and throw every ounce of energy I have into working for great clients such as Gift of Hope, Rush University Medical Center and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism. Not only are they great clients but great clients that challenge me creatively and understand the value of strategic online communications. I also have fantastic account teams and coworkers that keep each day fun and exciting (nope, that knife the boss is displaying is not symbolic in any way…she really did want a special cooking knife for Christmas).
2. My Friends & Colleagues
Having lived all around the country, I’ve met amazing people from all over the place. The Web helps keep those friendships alive and active and also affords the opportunity to connect with new professional contacts on a daily basis that help spark new ideas and ways of thinking. It’s through this network of support that among other things, I’m taking steps to become more serious with my photography as it’s previously remained a hidden passion.
1. My Family
A given but these are some of the strongest people I will ever know and continue to be mesmerized by the degree of support they afford on a daily basis. It’s becoming a rarity in this day and age and I feel lucky beyond lucky.
Thank you for subscribing or dropping by once in awhile to see what’s new. 2010 definitely looks to be an exciting year for all of us in social media world.
Here’s wishing you, your family, friends and loved ones safe and happy holidays!
Cheers,
Scott
2010 Social Media Trend Insight
Yup, yup, it’s that time of year where we’re all trying to figure out where we’ve ended up and where we’ll be a year from now. It’s anyone’s guess to a degree but I did want to check in with a couple social media colleagues to have them share their insight.
Special thanks to Lee Aase and Arik Hanson for helping out!
Lee Aase
Lee is the Manager of Syndication and Social Media at Mayo Clinic and also heads up Social Media University Global. He’s had quite the busy year, spurring along a viral video and traveling across the country to share insight about Mayo Clinic’s social media success. I look forward to presenting with Lee on a Webinar in January for the organ/tissue donation community.
Arik Hanson
Arik has also had a big year as 2009 marked the launch of ACH Communications. A constant innovator and connector, Arik also plays a big role as a mover and shaker in the world of healthcare and social media.
On top of checking out Lee and Arik’s responses below, I’d also encourage you to hop over to David Mullen‘s blog to check out his post on Four PR Trend Predictions for 2010. I always have a grand appreciation for David’s insight and this post will not disappoint.
-Scott
In your mind, what one social media trend dominated 2009?
AH: One trend we saw in 2009 was toward using social media for social good. Just look what Danny Brown and 12for12K Nation did in the last 11 months. What about how Sarah Evans helped a local shelter raise 16K in less than three weeks. Or even what David Armano did early in the year to raise money for a family in need. Maybe not a social cause, but definitely social good. The larger point? Organizations–and people–used social media to make a difference.
LA: I think 2009 was the year of Twitter. With lots of celebrities getting involved it drew millions of others to try it out. I also think we saw the Twitter site make significant changes so that the basic Web interface is much more functional. For instance, it’s now reasonable to follow and participate in a Twitter chat right from your Twitter home page. I did a post on the topic here: 3 Steps to Joining or Leading a Twitter Chat.
I previously would have said you needed to use Tweetdeck or another interface for a Twitter chat. This makes it much more practical for lots of people to get involved in group Twitter chats.
What trend do you think will be big in 2010?
AH: Two things: Mobile and social media “behind the firewall.” With more people buying smart phones every day, mobile marketing is ready to explode. I only see that growing in 2010. And, as the devices evolve, so will our marketing efforts and approaches. There are so many opportunities with mobile video, live streaming, FourSquare, BrightKite, Twitter, etc. Increasingly, people are doing more business on mobile devices. Banking, buying, donating, reading review of restaurants, I could go on and on. Brands would be wise to keep a pulse on this scene.
I think you’ll also see more companies start using social media as a tool “behind the firewall.” To date, more companies have been intrigued by the possibilities social media can provide with customers and other external stakeholders. But, in 2010, I think you’ll see more organizations think about using some of these same tools internally to foster collaboration, innovation and faster decision-making.
Organizations still need to become more efficient. That’s not going away just because the economy is showing signs of life. And, all successful companies thrive on innovation. Most social tools make these processes easier–especially for organizations that operate in a silo or are geographically dispersed.
LA: I think the mobile Web will be even bigger, with Android-based phones providing more smartphone choices, so while apps have been big in 2009, I think they’ll be huge in 2010.
Name one of your social media goals for 2010:
AH: In a word: Read.
Sure, most of my goals revolve around my new business and getting that off the ground, but reading is something that always gets pushed to the backburner. And, I simply can’t let that happen in 2010. By making time for daily reading (i.e., blogs, news sites and other sources of information), I am able to stay better informed of what’s going on in the world which helps me personally, professionally and on the new business front.
Reading blogs has also proven to be a tremendous networking tool for me. In 2009, I started reading Mengel’s Musings, LAF, Dave Fleet, Conversation Agent, Media Emerging, Social Media Explorer and Convince & Convert, among many, many others. That has not only led to learning new skills, generating new ideas and expanding my view in the social sphere, but also to actually meeting the bloggers behind these fantastically smart reads. And, in turn, that has enriched my life. Beyond words. The benefits speak for themselves.
LA: We (Mayo Clinic) had a really exciting year in 2009, launching our Sharing Mayo Clinic blog and syndicating an hour-long radio show nationally using social media (Twitter, streaming audio and our radio.mayoclinic.org blog) for about five percent of the cost of traditional syndication. One of my goals in 2010 is to consolidate some of those activities and create even more efficient and standardized processes, so we can have a good platform from which to launch our next wave.
That next wave is going to be pretty exciting. Stay tuned.
Pitching Tips from Regional Media Contacts
During yesterday’s Publicity Club of Chicago monthly luncheon, panelists discussed how PR pros can make the most of positioning local pitches with a national perspective.
The panel included Susan Caraher, Assignment Manager for ABC News’ Chicago Bureau, Jeff Flock, Chicago reporter for FOX Business Network and Ron Schofield, regional video producer for the Associated Press.
All three panelists harped the fact that they are inundated with irrelevant, off-target pitches each and every day. Jeff even noted on the spot that he had over 650 unread emails alone sitting in his inbox. Interestingly, Jeff also remarked that he felt that the press release was a requirement of the past. Instead, he made the point that reporters like himself are now rarely looking beyond the first 4-5 sentences of a pitch to determine whether or not they are interested in the story idea.
Along with a host of other tips, the panelists drove home these key reminders and pitching tips for PR pros:
1. Build relationships – Commend reporters if you like their stories, show that you pay attention to the topics they cover and build relevance as to why you are a contact they should keep in mind.
2. Be timely – Follow the wires, see what’s trending for news that day and keep in mind that big stories are the primary focus of every reporter – especially regional contacts such as the panelists.
3. Don’t sell, build a story – Reporters aren’t going to just write about a product – that’s an advertisement. Show the larger story and demonstrate how it relates to a larger audience.
I had the opportunity to snag Ron for a few minutes after the luncheon to recap some of these key tips. Apologies for the loud background audio, Ron was a popular guy so I had to grab what I could. Thanks Ron!
-Scott
