The Wax Blog

I JUST LOOK OLD-FASHIONED

I was really flattered that Blogworld wanted to interview me based on a speaking proposal I submitted this year on selling traditional marketers on blogging and social media.  I realized there may be a disconnect but I’m not sure it’s on the side of the ‘old school’ folks. I think perhaps social media folks and bloggers don’t always understand how projects get approved and measured in the corporate world. Instead of saying “they just don’t get it” in a frustrated tone (and believe me, I’ve done this) it’s time those of us pitching blogs and social media to businesses of any size do what Stephen Covey advised us all those years ago…”Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  Here’s a process for learning how to justify your latest social media project or new blog: (more…)

This year I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a gig for Hansaton USA, the newly launched US counterpart to a major German hearing aid manufacturer. The assignment included the normal launch release activity, trade public relations and I also added a small amount of time for blogging and social media. Hansaton USA sells to hearing aid dispensers and audiologist so although consumer awareness is important, their primary goal is to reach their business customers. Twitter was more of an afterthought in the campaign, a way to drive traffic to the blog, perhaps get a bit of SEO and maybe find a couple of audiologists.

Instead of being a footnote, I’ve found a way to maximize Twitter’s ROI for B2B companies in a way that a) takes very little time, b)creates a warm lead for sales and c) increases goodwill between Hansaton USA and major influencers in the industry. Here’s how I backed into what has become an effective tool in my B2B communications arsenal.

I thought I would bring back a post from last year – how many of you got “bad press” in 2010? Was it good for your company or not?

We’ve got a gossip columnist here in Minneapolis who  trashed me (in print AND on air no less) after which one of my clients called me and quoted George Plimpton – bad press is like bad breath, it’s better than no breath at all.

But is that really true? Since we were talking about bad publicists last week I thought I’d add my two cents on this topic. Most of us think of bad press as press where we are mentioned in a bad light. It’s really more than that and for PR 2.0 bad press can linger a long, long time. As I mentioned earlier, placements that make no sense are worthless for a brand. To me that’s bad press – my client paid for my time to make that placement so it’s money thrown down the drain. Remember every single mention can live forever online – in my book you have to avoid bad press like the plague.

So what exactly do I consider bad press? Here’s my list but feel free to add more. (more…)

A while back I interviewed Satellite Sister Lian Dolan in a very well-received post on pitching mom bloggers. (Keep an eye out for her new novel Helen of Pasadena out November 1st!)

I just realized something this week after doing a great piece with MckMama …you really can’t pitch mom bloggers. Not only are they the most influential buyers in the market, they’re the most discerning as well. You can definitely pay them to promote your product…and like all good bloggers these days they’ll reveal that fact to their readers.  Companies like Mom Central charge clients $20,000 or more to engage their network of mom bloggers. But that’s advertising. We all know it’s editorial coverage that gets often gets the highest return.

So if you can’t pitch them like other media, how do you reach these women (and men…I’d like to include the growing group of dads as well) Here are a few common characteristics that may help you get your product, book or service on their radar screen: (more…)

A little over three weeks ago I was blazing down a hill in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, on the third of eight laps in an inline skating marathon. I remember thinking some not-repeatable thoughts as my left skate started to wobble, probably after hitting some negligible landmark like an acorn or twig. The resulting crash left me in the hospital (the WONDERFUL NY Methodist – can’t say enough great things about that place!) having surgery on my knee. Thankfully, there’s probably no permanent damage but I have been assigned to immobility for the longest time in my adult life, unable to bend the knee until the skin heals.

What does this have to do with my normally instructional, and maybe kind of boring, voice in this blog? Over the past month, I’ve learned some pretty cool things about my platform, new media and the kindness of supposed strangers. I think I’m going to be able to apply all these things in my work as I slowly recover. Here’s a list of just a few:

• My Twitter buddies expressed real concern and continue to check in on me while I’m getting better. I’ve only met one of them in person -  @segnavia who even brought me  a latte -  but the others – @writesourcing, @dogwalkblog, @laurihart @dcwired, just to name a few – really do care! I think this means that I’m engaged in what used to be a purely professional pursuit,  but what has now turned into a fulfilling daily experience, communicating with people I’ve never met all over the country.  (Alternatively, Facebook friends have not provided as much good cheer – interesting in that most of them I HAVE met in person.)

• Along the same vein, my personal voice seems to be more important than my professional one. Or maybe it’s the same as when I was starting out in sales – I was always told we like to buy from people we know. Perhaps I’ve been too standoffish on my blog and even on Facebook – maybe that’s why folks are not as engage or interested in ‘buying’ what I’m writing. I’m going to work harder to ‘show up’ in both those mediums in the same way I show up on Twitter

• Without as much energy, and in the beginning with a great deal of pain, I’ve had to really budget my time working and engaging in social media. Although I’m still catching up a bit, my work quality hasn’t really suffered. If  I can learn to take things more slowly – perhaps my  work will improve without my deadlines suffering.

And finally, this accident was fairly dramatic. From the crash, to the emergency surgery, to wondering if I’d need skin grafts and such there continue to be some major ups and downs with this thing. I think people love drama and my life usually has quite a bit of drama. There’s a lot of interesting, cool stuff that happens to me – and   I’m going to start sharing more in this blog and in my social media.

So stick around for more of my life, not just my professional advice,  in the future.  And here’s a teaser…eventually, I promise to tell you the stories about the Playboy bunny, Ralph Nader and my supermodel client phase. And MAYBE the one about David Hasselhof. But only after I tell @dogwalkblog first.

Now that you determined your content, your networks and the main structure of your social media campaign it’s important to determine the frequency with which you’ll post. Certain networks require different levels of attention. LinkedIn, for example, is not a network with a high sense of urgency. In other words, unless you have an active group discussion happening you are probably fine with checking in once a day. (Frankly, unless I’m promoting something that requires a strong LinkedIn component I often check in twice a week) Twitter, on the other hand, needs attention 2-3 or more times per day.  The second biggest hurdle in social media campaigns for smaller businesses or solopreneurs is staying consistent with your posting (the first is, of course keeping content fresh. Refer back to that post on content if you need to) Here are some general guidelines for frequency for each social media network. (more…)