Entries Tagged 'strategy' ↓

If you’re a marketer, you should probably be joining some professional development organizations.  This helps get you networked, stay in touch with industry practices, and up to date on new trends.  Here’s the list of organizations I know about.  Did I miss any?

• Social Media Club |   http://www.socialmediaclub.org/ – My local branch in DC is pretty active: Shout to http://smcdc.wordpress.com.  They do many events around the DC area where digital marketing professionals can meet up to discuss best practices.  It feels a little less stuffy than the more developed associations but it depends on what you’re into.  I paid the membership fee immediately, because I could pay from PayPal!  You also get good discounts to events.  I’m not sure if I’m attending the online marketing summit, but it is one example of how joining the SMC could be a good thing.  http://www.onlinemarketingsummit.com/2010-washington-dc/
• American Marketing Association | http://www.marketingpower.com – I joined the AMA in 2006 and have been off and on with my membership.  They produce a quarterly journal that can be helpful.  They also have a great job board that is open to site visitors.
• Society of Digital Agencies | http://www.societyofdigitalagencies.org – I joined SoDA the earlier part of this year.  There was no membership fee, though I would have paid something for all the value I got.  They manage the site through a Ning network and did a awesome digital marketing outlook document.  Some people want to know that SoDA began as an Adobe venture but I don’t have a position on that.  It’s a great org that gives you access to great resources and allows you to contribute meaningfully. I cross post marketing blog posts on their site and check out the other contributors.

I have long desired to work with other people who believe in the power of digital marketing as much as I do. Many of my posts have been geared towards selling people. I’ve been selling people on the idea that they have to accept digital marketing and create strategies to understand and take advantage of this new way to communicate the values of their brand. I’ve been selling colleagues and clients at work, on Twitter, on my personal blog, on my consulting blog, on blogs that I write for others.

And I’m not doing that anymore.

If the last five years haven’t proven to you that digital marketing (communications, media, etc…) is important, well I’m just not sure that reading my blog is going to be that convincing push you need.

Today, Feb. 23, 2010 I am shifting my focus. I am putting my energy into seeking out other people and organizations who believe to create an impact. I want to work with businesses who have a brand worth believing in to get them an audience of customers that share their values.

If that’s you… reach out. me@madialogan.com.

When you ask a company about their digital strategy, and the response you get is “We’re going to start blogging and twittering and a FB fan page…” – it’s still surprising to me. If you fast forward to the leadership meeting, you’ll hear some undertones of charts and numbers (with nothing to really compare it to) but the real energy in reporting out is that we did it. We started the blog. We started the conversation. Now we’re dealing with how to engage important audiences and answer questions — but we didn’t really have an idea of how to do this before-hand because well this new digital media stuff is craaaazy.

The excuse that digital media is new doesn’t work anymore. There are books, case studies, agency experts, and other things that help people understand what it is, and how to interact with it. The lack of planning is lazy and it reminds me of a quote from a book I’m reading now called Start with Why. “They never have time or money to do it right, but they always have the time and money to do it again.” and it’s true. When a large part of the rework required on these types of projects could have been avoided with planning – well there’s some missing accountability there. Why didn’t you anticipate this?

Just because you can make mistakes at a cheaper financial cost doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get the very best first product as close to right as you can. There are real risks to your brand perception and those risks should make you want to get as close to right the first time as you can.

Managing your personal brand is important for a lot of professionals.  For those of us interested in advancing in the corporate world, it makes sense to think about what your online life says about you.

Employers sometimes view job candidates’ social network pages as part of their research.  In a survey done by CareerBuilder, 45% of respondents said they did.  It goes without saying that if you enjoy posting risky or potentially offensive content, you should probably maintain your privacy filters very closely.  Maybe you should just maintain those on a site that doesn’t have your name on it…

Protect your privacy, but what about the flip side?  Could potential employers like some of what they see on your profile, and could that profile be helpful in landing you the job or at least making you stand out?  Here are some quick points:

• Don’t fake it. If you find your potential boss is into whitewater rafting, it’s probably not the best idea to say that’s one of your hobbies.  Even if you get the gig – you’d have to live with that lie for waaaay too long.
• Search yourself. I look up my search results all the time.  You’ll probably see things about your past jobs, and all of your web life. You may see things all over the spectrum from schools you attended, boards you served on, etc…  Here I scan to make sure my privacy settings are working.  If you have a very common name, then you could be safe – but social networks can search for people in different areas…
• See through their eyes. Think about the position(s) you’re applying for and what type of person they’re looking for.  Look for ways to align yourself with values you share with the company.  Look for ways to show your involvement in discussions about your industry or functional expertise.  Don’t be cheesy and obvious, but you can change your FB profile summary pretty easily.  Why not say something interesting about your work?

There are real ways to add content to your social media profile that help distinguish you from the crowd and make you a real person, not just a resume currently atop the pile.

Despite my better judgment, I’m doing a very introspective post.  It could be because I’m up late thinking about work.  It’s more likely that something is bugging me.  ‘This will surely be one of those posts I contemplate deleting after it’s published but you have to tell the truth to get the truth so here it goes.

I am a marketer, and a pretty serious one.  I am a writer.  I emphasize getting a point across – one on one or in a group.  I am a speaker.  Clearly I like to talk people and I’m pretty good at it.

I am a singer and a songwriter.  I’ve released two albums and am finally back in the studio working on the third.  My albums have digital distribution and can be found online at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other marketplaces.  Yeah Madia does music and Madia [a.k.a. logan] does marketing.

I always thought people should pick something, and get good at it.  It wasn’t because I didn’t think people could be good at multiple things.  I did and I do!  I think that when we summarize people in our head, we can only fit one thing.  As people we define other people in a very small box.  I think most mental summaries are a word or two.   Mother.  Musician.  Marketer.  Writer.

We define people by the role we know them to play or the role that is most prominent – and because of that, I conformed to the idea that I have to be one thing now that I’m a grown up and can no longer pass for a college student.  (maybe a grad student…)  People told me I had to pick something.

So I’m coming out to multiple groups that I have worked very hard to keep separate.  Why?

• It’s bound to happen.
• I might as well control the message. (inner marketer)
• If we’re friends you’ll hopefully make my box a lil bigger.
• If we’re not friends, maybe you’ll resist putting others in a box.

If you’re a person of multiple talents, I think letting the walls down is good.  It shows you have multiple strengths and sometimes unique insights as a result of your multiple perspectives.  They told me to pick something… but I’m ignoring that advice.