Rick Short's B2B Marcom Blog

SOCIAL MEDIA AND B2B: What's Working?, What Isn't?, What's Next? ... an Excellent ISBM Seminar

Thursday, March 4, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

I just returned from speaking at, and learning from, an excellent webinar staged by the ISBM.

Titled, "Social Media and B-to-B: What's Working?, What isn't?, and What's Next?", the event lasted two days and involved about 120 people. Pictured is Ralph Oliva, Executive Director at ISBM - Penn State and Marketing Professor at Penn State Smeal College of Business, welcoming the crowd to the meeting room during day 2.

Providing insight at the event, in addition to me, were:

Paul Auditore - SAP
Rob Leavitt - Solutions Insights
Jeff Hayzlett - Kodak
Tony Summerlin - Kickstand LLC
Arvind Rangaswamy - Penn State
Ralph Oliva - ISBM
Doug Webster - Cisco
Dave Will - Peach New Media
Scott Gillum - GyroHSR

These people are all excellent sources of insight and information.

Here is my biggest take-away from the event: Unlike discussions of B2B SOCIAL MEDIA in the past, this discussion had COHERENCY. As Ralph Oliva put it, in the past, we were comparing apples to bicycles. Now, we are beginning to see order and best practices.

Some of the consistent themes that I noted in my twitter stream (follow #isbm3) are:

Put your tech people up front when using B2B social media. THEY are your ROCK STARS!
EXPERIMENT w social media.
CONSTANT education & learning are required for social media to be done well
REACH OUT to your network to gain their insights and support
social media can become a major SALES CHANNEL
long-tail & quality matter
advertising can be reduced and sales can be driven up

This is great news! There is starting to be some clarity, best practices, guidelines, and structure for B2B Social Media. A huge thanks to Ralph Oliva and the ISBM for making this clear.

Indium Corporation Celebrates 5th Blogging Anniversary!

Thursday, February 25, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Today marks the 5th anniversary of our company's first blog and post. I was going to get all nostalgic and show you an image of that post. Instead, I put that image on a cake and fed it to our blogging team. You guessed it! I didn't whip out my camera until AFTER the party. Obviously, we had a super time.

During the celebration (where - in addition to cake - pizza, sandwiches, beverages, and awesome stories were consummed heartily) we discussed where we are with social media, and how we got here. I'll post on that later.

On this special day I want to simply THANK everyone who has supported and guided our team on our journey, and the wonderful bloggers on our team - our ROCK STARS.

Finally, I want to give a special shout-out to my, and Indium Corporation's, blogmother, Toby Bloomberg. Simply put, she got us started. Thanks, Diva!

Integrity In Journalism

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

There are a lot of discussions about lazy, unethical, or inaccurate journalism. There are, seemingly, too few mentions of people who do a good job. Here is a story of a B2B journalism team who made a minor error yet who stepped up in a major way.

In my electronics assembly world we are blessed with many fine journalists. These are dedicated, hard working people who struggle to keep up with topics, trends, and organizations that, for the most part, strive to retain secrecy. Their jobs are both challenging and unglamorous. Yet, they remain energetic and optimistic.

Recently a story hit our trade media. It was based on inferences, and a reference that is dubious. Several industry websites picked it up and put it forth. When comments (from a highly technical engineering audience) started coming in <here is an example> about the basis and validity of the article, the publisher of Circuitnet stepped up and posted this:

Gentlemen, you have a good point. When we came across the article my interest was immediately peaked by the title. I realize there is not much in the story pointing to tin whiskers as the cause for some of Toyota's problem, but we decided to use the article.

The original title is: "Electronic tin whiskers may be behind Toyota
recalls." We often need to shorten article titles when we use them as
the subject line for our email newsletter. We may have overdone it by
changing the title to: "Tin Whiskers Behind Toyota Recalls."

Thanks for your letter. We appreciate the feedback.

Jeff Ferry
Publisher
Circuitnet

I've always thought highly of the professionalism of Jeff and his entire Circuitnet team. His reaction, attitude, sense of responsibility, and integrity in this situation simply says it all. This one small case should be taught to journalism students everywhere - as an example of something that is HUGE. This is honesty, respect, dignity, and professionalism in action.

The "LEGO® EFFECT" in Business to Business Marcom

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Today I had a very rich discussion with a man who has the experience, wisdom, and intelligence to earn the respect of any B2B Marcom professional. While talking with John Favalo, Managing Partner - B2B - at Eric Mower & Associates, regarding the rate of change occurring in our practice, I brought up a topic that I have been ruminating on for many months. I call this topic, "The LEGO® EFFECT".

We Know: In today's blistering-fast world of newly-evolving software, hardware, tools, trends, topics, concepts, and practices, we are now unable to know of, experience, and master many new tools. There are simply too many. These days, we seize upon resources that offer promise, knowing that, while we take the time to learn these new tools, other potentially powerful tools will get past us. It's a given.

We Know: Our collection of resources does not likely match that of our competitors. We live knowing, while we are preparing to launch our next awesome salvo, that our competition may be unleashing something more powerful, using a tool that got past us.

We Know: Getting beaten is unacceptable. We don't get paid to be average - and we certainly don't get paid to get beaten.

So, what do we do?

We also Know: Rarely does a Marcom team do EVERYthing themselves. Most of us rely on consultants, vendors, and other topical experts from time to time.

With the increasingly abundant new tools, and the existence of highly skilled specialists, we need to become very comfortable adding and removing specialized consultants to and from our teams. Enter "The LEGO® EFFECT". You know, snap a piece in and enjoy what it does for you, then snap it out and replace it with something better.

Traditionally we've relied on long-established relationships with a small number of vendors (eg: an agency) who "got" us and who knew the (relative to today) simpler ropes. I contend that, in some cases, we now must feel very comfortable snapping in a highly capable specialist for a temporary, contracted assignment, then, upon completion, thanking them and moving on.

Good agencies still play a valuable role. I believe that retaining an overall agency may still be valid for most Marcom programs - especially if the agency is truly a leader in adopting effective skills. Even then, it is now increasingly necessary to snap in certain topical experts from time to time.

Step 1: Admit it. There is simply too much good stuff out there for any one person or team to master.

Step 2: Determine how you want to dominate your space - then find experts to snap into place, giving you the immediate expertise that you need. Work together using an achievement-specific contract.

Step 3: Be good to these specialists. Respect them and compensate them properly.

Step 4: Feel good when it is time to end the relationship and move on. It's the new way.

Thanks, John, for the thought-provoking discussion, and for keeping me on my toes.

"LEGO^® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site".

Image

BtoB Social Media Target Audience: Hunters or Farmers?

Thursday, February 4, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Seth Godin has authored ANOTHER excellent post (when HASN'T HE?), titled, "Hunters and Farmers." In it he posits that some people are "hunters" while others are "farmers." Each is good, valuable, and desired - but they are different from each other in important ways.

As business to business marcom practitioners, we are warned, in the post, to know which type of person we are targeting in our efforts. The wants, needs, and styles of each type of person is critical to the way they perceive input, and act on it (or don't).

Give it a read. It makes very good sense to me - hope it helps you.

Images:
Hunter: Mila Zinkova
Farm: Frank Vincentz

Transparency In BtoB Social Media

Tuesday, February 2, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

There is a lot of excellent discussion occurring these days regarding transparency in business to business (BtoB, B to B, B2B) social media. I particularly like the efforts being put forth by my friends Toby Bloomberg and John Cass. Their recent report on AGENCY transparency in social media offers 30+ diverse opinions on the matter (Toby's report - John's report). I posted on this report yesterday. And speaking of transparency, I am proud to say that Toby is my (and Indium Corporation's) "blogmother", giving me my start back in 2004. THANKS, Toby!

Well, there is more to transparency than keeping agencies in line. WE, as B2B marcom professionals, have to keep ourselves in good order, as well. It gets complicated in social media, especially when you have blog posts feeding into Facebook posts and Facebook posts feeding into Tweets (and on and on). Looking at these posts

from the customer's point of view, it can often appear "vague" as to who is the author. At least two questions can arise:

who, from the company, authored this?
did ANYONE from the company author this, or is it ghost written?

I am very proud of the fact that all of the content published by our company is authored by our staff or by technology consultants hired expressly to create specific content on our behalf (working closely with our staff). We make every effort to clearly state the author and their position. My position is that this is the way it should be in a technology environment, and in today's social media climate. That said, there are cases where our social media program publishes items that have no author stated.

For example, every time one of our technologists posts a blog entry, that entry is automatically fed into our Indium Corporation Facebook page. The problem is that the blog post contains no author data since that info appears surrounding the post.

Only the content gets sent over. If you follow the link from Facebook back to the post, it is all there. But, I always try to think like our customer - and they might not want to follow the link, might not notice the situation, might be too busy, etc. I feel it is my job to go out of my way to be transparent and make the authorship information clear and readily available.

To this goal I have just added this TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT to my Facebook page (see the section outlined in red in the image):

TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT:
Our Facebook content source includes blog postings, Tweets, data sheets, etc.

The authors are 100% Indium Corporation staff.

Author info appears in original content or like this (rick).

Questions? Please ask.

It may not be the perfect solution, but it clearly addresses my company's style, intentions, and respect for our readers. I believe I still have a long way to go to be as transparent and thorough as I'd like to be.

I hope to learn some helpful tips and get some advice from you. Please comment and share your views.

Toby Bloomberg & John Cass Survey: 30+ Diverse Opinions On Social Media Agency Transparency

Monday, February 1, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

How to handle social media transparency?

Well, we first need to understand that there are precious few concrete rules with which to comply. We each need to develop our own practice.

Notice that each of these light bulbs is transparent, but different. I see each B2B Marcom professional crafting their unique brand of transparency. Transparent (not always!), and different.

To help us learn from each other, John Cass and Toby Bloomberg tapped their extensive network, solicited expertise and opinion, and shared it with us. Review the 30+ Diverse Opinions On Social Media Transparency for yourself in Toby's blog or in John's blog.

In this piece you'll find several views, from many perspectives. There's even some input from yours truly, Rick Short.

Anyone involved with Marketing Communications will find something interesting, maybe even valuable, in this collection of thoughts, opinions, and firmly-held beliefs. Rather than tell you what to think, I suggest you dive into the party, then form your own opinion and practice. Ultimately, put it to good, ethical use and let your bulb shine brightly.

Apple iPad Video Pulls Some Wrong B2B Marcom Levers

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

We BtoB Marcom practitioners keep a keen eye out for anything related to business communications. So, Apple's much-awaited release of their iPad (today) had plenty to offer.

I just viewed the Apple iPad promo video and was shocked at, in my opinion, what I believe are a handful of wrong marketing communications moves, including:

#1: Featuring a testimonial from an overly excited guy (he calms down eventually) spouting incredible (to him) superlatives. PS: He works for Apple, as do all the people in the video.

#2: Relying on awesome-sounding features that are old news. For example, the excited spokesperson attempts to blow us away with these state-of-the-art items:

"You see something, you just reach out and ... tap it!" You mean like we did with our 1st-generation iPhone, years ago? PS: Apple - we're on the 3rd-gen of the iPhone at this time.
"With a screen this large, you can just see MORE of the web." Funny, the monitor I'm using now is 17", and my netbook sports a 10.1". The iPad's screen is 9.7". I can see MORE of the web right where I am, thank you.
"Take the New York Times, you can see ALL the top stories." Where CAN'T we see all the top stories on the New York Times?

These pseudo-claims cheapen the really good claims that are made elsewhere in the video.

My take-away is, when it's YOUR product, you want to be pumped about it. But, your customers are trained to be very measured, deliberate, and careful - especially in the business to business environment. It's literally THEIR JOB to evaluate you critically. Even if your product IS exceptional, you scare them when you get caught stretching the truth, exaggerating, and puffing. Then, they start doubting ALL your claims.

B2B Marcom people: temper your enthusiasm and excitement by seeing the product through your customers' eyes. Focus on benefits (I shouldn't have to remind you to make them actually REAL), and on the customers' needs and desires. Then, make your pitch in a way that resonates with (not scares) your target audience.

PS: Where is the iPad camera? Come on!

Virtual Trade Shows: Analagous To Skype

Friday, January 15, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Let's use an analogy to discuss virtual trade shows in business to business (B2B) Marketing Communications.

In the old days, if you wanted to meet several vendors, meet industry movers and shakers, and kick a few tires, you had one option: go to a trade show (exhibition). Analagous to that ... in the old days, if you wanted to speak with someone far away, you had to use the phone. No other choice.

Today, when it comes to moving and grooving with our industry, we can still: 1) stay home or 2) attend a trade show, and ... now ... we can avail ourselves of a relatively new option 3) the virtual trade show. Also, in modern times, following our analogy, if we want to speak with someone far away, we can: 1) not reach out, 2) make a phone call, and ... now ... we can avail ourselves of relatively new options 3) Skype or SMS (short message service - text message).

Funny, we don't find ourselves debating Skype vs regular phone calls, or regular phone calls vs. SMS. When it comes to the phone, we simply integrate all the options into our lives and use the mode, or mix, that best suits us. But we do get into interesting debates on the virtues of traditional trade shows vs virtual events. There's no need for the debate.

Sometimes attending a traditional trade show is not feasible. For example, you may have a commitment in a different location, or you may choose to not spend the money attending it. In such a situation, your choices are: 1) no participation at all, 2) virtual event, or 3) call a hundred vendors and interview them. Or, maybe the show exists only in virtual form. You can choose to: 1) not participate, 2) learn what you can in a virtual environment, or 3) call a hundred vendors and interview them.

Next time the topic arises, remember: you have options and choices (just like you do when it comes to communicating with people). Don't make it a debate, make it a choice - a choice of how you are best served when collecting critical information.

Publish or Perish (PS: You already did)

Monday, January 11, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

In today's B2B Marcom, you must be a publisher, or you will suffer. Social media (blogs, twitter, facebook, YouTube, websites, etc. all enable this).

THE PRESENT:
Social media superstar, Dana VanDen Heuvel shared a link to this article with me. As usual, when Dana speaks, I listen. Once again, Dana has shared a real gem.

The article, titled, "Why marketers Must Become The New Publishers" from Chris Koch, author of Chris Koch's B2B Blog, goes beyond the "why" and even helps with the "how".

The article emphasizes honing content relevance and refocusing customer targeting - things that today's technology and social media tools allow us all to do quite effectively (think long-tail).

Face it, you ought to be totally psyched about whatever it is you purvey. Regardless if it is consummed by millions or a choice few. Additionally, your customers want info and action on THEIR timetable - therefore, you need your content online BEFORE the customer needs it. The obvious conclusion is that you should publish now!

THE PAST:

source: Flickr.com, by Klearchos Kapoutsis

On the very same day I received Dana's alert, I also received an "Advertisers' Alert" from a trade publication. It struck me so funny to be called an "advertiser". I haven't thought of myself, or my company, as an "advertiser" in well over a year. Upon reading the "alert", I felt like I was on an archeological dig. As I carefully explored the artifacts I noted antiquated references to things like "advertising close" date, "materials close" date, and a "feature articles" section.

Does anyone really live in accordance to the editorial calendars, timetables, and deadlines of other people's publications anymore? Ask yourself this question the next time you're using Google: "Can I wait for my answer until the next issue of my favorite trade publication arrives? And when it does, I know it will be telling me what THEY want to discuss with little regard for my current, specific need."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klearchos/ / CC BY 2.0

Is it Time to Create Real Awards for Our Industry?

Friday, January 8, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

The following article was written by Steve Gold, of EMS007. The topic is of tremendous importance to any B2B Marcom professional, and to the constituents we serve (Product Managers, our companies, etc.). We all want to help lead our companies to recognition, but we need to select the arenas carefully. As we all can imagine, it could be quite embarrassing to tout a recently-earned "honor" only to find out that the criteria are less than legitimate. It pays to vet the organization and process bestowing such honors.
::::::::::::::::::::::

Is it Time to Create Real Awards for Our Industry?

Is anybody else completely turned off by awards that reward advertisers and clients? As a journalist, my in-box is overloaded with template-like announcements about technology awards from trade magazines. Talk about meaningless PR!

These awards really seem to be about magazines building and retaining a customer base at the expense of editorial integrity. For years I've tried to see the value in them, but I've come to the conclusion that the only value is for magazine publishers.

Why would a true technology leader pay a fee for an awards entry when winners are predetermined by a magazine's customer base? If you're a sales and marketing professional, these awards might mean something to your marketing effort. But, if you're an engineer, do you really care which AOI vendor takes home a magazine's trumped-up technology or service award?

"Trumped-up" too strong a term for you? Well look at this: One magazine's service award explains, "Online responses are collected from a list of customers you provide to determine your company's level of customer satisfaction in various categories." You provide? Why not ask a random group of customers? If I were entering, I'd submit my best and happiest customers to ensure a great chance of victory. And, then, I'd buy an ad to ensure I'd win a tie, but that's just me.

Another publication blows my mind with its awards. It charges applicants $500 per category to submit applications to "independent judges" who remain nameless on their Web site. Don't applicants deserve to know who is judging them? What's worse, year after year the list of winners is dominated by companies whose PR is handled by--believe it or not--the publisher's wife! What kind of message does that send to the industry? And are readers aware of this as they read press release after press release about winning a supposedly prestigious award?

Don't take my word for it--check out the applications on various magazine sites. A $500 fee per entry seems to be the standard to join the game. And check out the paperwork--one magazine asks you to download a form that's not unlike a college scholarship application: "How does this product/service meet a significant industry challenge?" And here's the kicker, "Products introduced or significantly upgraded/changed in the last 36 months are eligible..."The last three years? That's the best we can do when awarding visionary products?

Being employed by a leading industry publication, I'd be an idiot to imply trade magazines fail to play an important role in our industry. But I've held my tongue for years as magazines increase their revenue streams with awards that are mainly meaningless. I would hope our publication could, one day, come up with an industry award that raises the bar (which is why we haven't been "me too" on award presentations). It has to be something of value to readers--not advertisers.

While I know award producers and winners might not be thrilled with my opinion, I'd really like to hear from engineers for your perspective on these awards. Because, in the end, you deliver awards whenever you sign a purchase order.

Editor's Note: Since publishing this opinion piece, it has been brought to my attention that judges are kept anonymous to keep entrants from contacting them. While I agree this decreases lobbying judges beforehand, perhaps it would be enlightening for both entrants and readers to learn the identities of the judges after the awards are given.

To contact Steve, click here.

Follow I-Connect007 on Twitter here.

Social Media As A Sales Tool

Friday, January 8, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

I was recently interviewed by Ryan Miller, social media strategist, blogger, and fellow musician, at my favorite coffee house, The Tramontane Cafe, in Utica, NY. We discussed how and why Indium Corporation leverages blogging and social media to increase business and connect with customers and potential customers. This is an exciting part of modern B2B Marcom. This is part 2 of the interview session - IT'S ALL ABOUT SALES <1 more segment to follow>. View Part 1 of the Rick Short interview.

Ryan's full blog post.

In this interview I touched lightly on my concern that many people are timid about citing SALES as the ultimate goal in business to business engagements - or even in Marketing Communications projects. Clearly, I am not implying that we are all, or should be, a pack of ruthless thieves. There IS such a thing as ethical, mutually-beneficial transactions that benefit all parties involved. The results of such engagements produce SALES. SALES keeps the virtuous cycle spinning.

PEOPLE in B2B Marcom

Thursday, January 7, 2010 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Part 1 of 3 - CONTENT to CONTACT <more to follow>

United Airlines Uses Twitter Perfectly

Tuesday, December 22, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Image: caribb http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/85819515/sizes/m/

Here is a social media situation where a business to business and a business to consumer company, United Airlines, is doing something incredibly well. That "something" is: using Twitter. Check them out at: http://twitter.com/UnitedAirlines

Every business has numerous goals - and numerous tools to achieve them. Interestingly, some companies use tools with no apparent goal in mind. They just "do things" because they can. Ever run an ad because you always have? Exhibited at a trade show based on little more than tradition? Yes, marcom can be part of the problem. But not in this case.

Today, when big businesses are crumbling, when the airline industry is in a shambles, during the holiday season when travelers put a tremendous crush on the capacity and infrastructure, and during the winter (in North America) when Mother Nature randomly throws us all curve balls, does United Airlines crawl, sniveling, into a corner and hope it all goes away? Just the opposite!

I have NOT interviewed anyone from UA, so I do not know their goal for using Twitter. But I can tell you that MY goal for following @UnitedAirlines is to be a successful traveler - period. I don't want chatter, I don't need to develop the warm fuzzies, I don't hope to fall in love, I just want to get where I am going with confidence. UA seems to have made this their prime objective on Twitter - then they attacked.

The situation:

Huge eastern North America snowstorm days before Christmas 2009.
Travel disrupted.
Thousands of flights canceled.
Ground transportation interrupted.
United Airlines unleashes a torrent of informative, helpful, linked, insightful, knowledge-based tweets that surely changed plugged-in travelers' experiences.

Here is an example (from minutes ago):

UnitedAirlines Midwest snow, ice expected Wed-Fri. Booked & able to travel earlier? New waiver: http://tinyurl.com/yjt4t7p

The link addresses the location, the situation, and the best way to tackle the issue. All from a United Airlines insider.

Here's another (one of several) very traveler-friendly tweet from The Friendly Skies:

Be informed before going to the airport. Check in & sign up for mobile text alerts: http://tinyurl.com/yjt4t7p

If a Twitter reader didn't know about UA's mobile text alerts, they do now! Compliments of @UnitedAirlines.

Travelling (especially during the holidays) can be very emotional and stressful. To address that, @UnitedAirlines offers Tweets like this:

Ticketed & flexible? Need to confirm for peace of mind? Knowledge=power, online=control: http://tinyurl.com/yjt4t7p

Remember, modern social media and marcom tools are very alluring. But they're not going to help your organization unless you use them properly and effectively. United Airlines shows us an exemplary implementation of Twitter at just the right time.

Image: caribb

http://www.flickr.com/photos/caribb/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Tiger Woods And A B2B Marcom Lesson

Monday, December 14, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Scott Barbour/Getty Images http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4736735

As business to business marcom practitioners, we occasionally sponsor events and may even hire a spokesperson to help us promote our products and services. In hopes of improving our business we associate our brand with theirs.

So, what happens when we want to cut the connection (for whatever reason)? Sometimes it is a simple matter to let the relationship expire and disappear into the night. Other times it may not be that easy - or private.

Take the Tiger Woods situation. Here we have one man, several corporate partners, and several big, public decisions (as well as executions). So, how is it being done? Here are two versions:

Version 1: ACCENTURE - aka "bridge burning"

According to an article in syracuse.com:

In a statement Accenture said, "...given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising."

Version 2: GILLETTE - aka "leave the door open"
According to an article in espn.go.com:

"As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs," said Gillette, a division of Procter & Gamble.

Now, imagine your role is to assure your company is seen in the best possible light. This includes being honest, ethical, positive, wholesome, etc. All the good things. Which version accomplishes this goal? I believe that both receive an equal score.

Also, imagine that you desire a clean and clear break from a spokesperson. Which version accomplishes this goal? I believe that both receive an equal score.

Then, imagine that you want to portray your company as having a degree of class while leaving the door open to any potential relationship with the celebrity. Which version accomplishes this goal? I believe that Gillette aced it.

In fact, I believe that Gillette has earned the 2009 "Elegant Parting Of The Ways" award. Their method should serve as an example for all of us to study and learn from. No one was disparaged, everyone (including their customer) was respected, the message is clear, and there are no questions.

This is effective and exemplary Marcom - and a technique that will work in the B2B realm.

Read And Write Your Ass Off

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Friend, fellow musician, and Online Strategist, Ryan Miller (Romanelli Communications) recently delivered an interesting and valuable set of advice to graduating Utica College Public Relations majors. He then summed it up in a blog post.

The post, titled "Read And Write Your Ass Off", is efficient and concise - a study in effective communications in itself. Take 60 seconds and make this message your own. As I read it I started nodding in agreement, thinking, "This is perfect advice for these students."

This whole topic rang true for me as I have recently been considering the skillset I would need in a potential new business to business marcom hire. I reminded myself of how unskilled and unproven many previous candidates have been. I have also been musing as to just how I would evaluate the candidates' claims and distinguish the best from the pack. This post brought things into focus for me.

Then, I started considering how this advice would apply to more experienced PR staff, and to marcom people in general, and to product managers, and to tech support staff ... and to all my bloggers and face-to-face-with-the-customer colleagues. CONCLUSION? Ryan's advice applies to us all - at all stages of our careers.

So, if you want insight into how you should prepare yourself for a job in B2B Marcom, how you can improve your role, or even how you should prepare yourself to evaluate and differentiate job candidates, read Ryan's post. Consider sharing it with your team.

Then, if you've got a minute to spare, listen to Ryan's music.

Image: The Hamster Factor

Social Media: Like Flying In Formation

Monday, December 7, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

Source: Denis Collette http://www.flickr.com/photos/deniscollette/1817034358/sizes/o/

As I left the house this morning I heard a Canada Goose honk while flying overhead. Instinctively, I wondered what it was doing alone.

Geese are iconic social creatures. They even inspired the famous, "Lessons From Geese." This short speech seems to apply, not only to everyday life, but to social media - at least to me.

The 5 goose facts contained in the piece are related to lessons in life. As I read them, I can find corrolaries to social media. For example (quoting from the above-referenced source):

FACT 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

LESSON: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

RICK'S SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENT: When we share our thoughts, ideas, and goals with our social media network (falling INTO formation), we tap into insights, information, advice, and knowledge far beyond what any individual is capable of possessing - thus taking advantage of the "lifting power" created by peers with related experience.

As I drove to my office, anticipating flicking on my PC and seeing what B2B Marcom insight TweetDeck had to offer, I felt like that solo goose - traveling in the dark, momentarily alone but seeking the strength of my network.

Image: Denis Collette

Online Shopping With That Local Flavor

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

"Web sites will replace brick-and-mortar stores within five years. I realize that's a bold prediction, but here's why."

These "bold" words were published by Laurie Sullivan in Media Post Blogs' SEARCHBLOG today. In her piece, Laurie continues on and indirectly describes TEHAN's, a really cool old "catalog store" or "catalog showroom" that existed in the Utica, New York area for many years. You probably had something similar in your hometown. She writes:

"Brick-and-mortar retail stores selling everything from clothing to high-ticket items like flat-screen TVs will turn into warehouses where consumers can touch and feel the merchandise."

Tehan's was way snazzier than a warehouse, it was a nicely-appointed retail store, with clean and orderly glass shelves, stocked with one each of the very same items that appeared in their thick catalog. And everyone in the area possessed the newest issue of that catalog. We all pored over it, in search of medium- to high-end birthday presents, gadgets, or household appliances.

Once our selections were made, we went to the showroom to see and touch each item. We then made our selection, filled out a form, and presented it to a clerk who went into the back warehouse. Minutes later, our item bounced along a small roller conveyor into the hands of the cash register clerk with whom we completed our transaction.

Well, Tehan's is gone. And you know what we do today. One reason Zappo's is so popular is that they offer free shipping (both ways) and free 365 day returns so we can see and touch each item with little consequence.

Tehan's "issues" were that we had to use only their (relative to the internet) limited catalog, and we had to drive all the way over there (can you believe it!?!?!?). The internet's issues are that we can't see and touch items (unless they also happen to be stocked in a local store, or a friend has the same item) and we have to wait several days to take receipt of the item (thank goodness for overnight delivery!).

Might we see the return of "catalog showrooms" to display items for sale by major internet retailers in the next 10 years? I guess that we will for really mainstream consumer items - maybe even a Amazon Store. And, in a reverse manner, some retailers might become catalog stores, supported by central distribution - in support of a new online retail model. But I doubt we'll see such a service for business to business (btob, b2b) shopping in the near future.

Give me YOUR comments on this.

Searchal Media

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

I have been emphasizing the convergence of search and social media in my business to business marcom (btob, b2b) practice for a long time. I just received more affirmation from a person I highly respect, Erik Qualman.

In a very concise self-interview on searchenginewatch.com, Erik delivers several nuggets regarding his thoughts on social media. This one is germane to what I call searchal media:

Q (Erik): What is the "next big thing" in social media marketing?

A (Erik): The merging of search and social.

In my b2b marcom practice, it is very clear that my target audience needs information and answers immediately - as issues develop. They turn to search for the information.

Additionally, the common and accepted social media tools are excellent at getting my information out onto the internet in a way that is easy for my target audience to find and retrieve.

Searchal media ... did I just coin a new term? Regardless, it's the practice (and results) that count.

Will TWEET For Water

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 by Rick Short [Rick Short]

"Didn't you get my tweet?"

"Researchers at New York University's interactive telecommunications program have come up with a device that allows plants to tell owners when they need water or if they've had too much via the social network blogging service Twitter." Reuters

I absolutely LOVE IT when someone (especially, but rarely, me) takes something cool, applies it to something wildly peculiar (seemingly at the time) , and creates a whole new concept. Interestingly, AFTER the concept is understood, it all seems so obvious. Having read the opening quote, a co-worker and I immediately thought of applying the concept to thermometers applied to your child or your geriatric parent ... or to a scale that monitors the weight of something (stock on a shelf) ... or to a sensor that measures your lawn (grass) height on your distant property.

Applying cool existing concepts in an unusual way in (b2b, btob) business to business Marcom is also a ton of fun.

Image: i, Timmy

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