The BrandForward Blog

A funny thing happened that I didn’t really expect. This winter I took on one of the most profound and challenging projects I’ve ever encountered — developing the global social media program from the ground up for a $400 million a year division of a $4 billion company. Everything from analyzing the business model and devising social strategies for readying the company for the non-paywall social age, to outlining an execution plan for roughly 20 communities. (Yes, twenty!)

While at the same time addressing consumer engagement preferences within the scope of 4,000+ products in more than a dozen sub-categories. And figuring out how to thoughtfully integrate a full range of departments and people into the program. Not to mention digital workspace, monitoring (and integrating social into that whole Salesforce and Eloqua morass). And did I mention it has both B2B and B2C operations?

It’s a good thing I’m into mysteries wrapped in riddles.

In the beginning I had visions of blog posts and sugar plums dancing in my head. This was going to rock. I’d blog about the experience all along the way… going into detail on everything from the social-vantage market analysis process, the weaving of social strategies into the business funnel, consumer social psychographics, integrating tactics into the closed measurement loop… outlining how to organize many meaty slides into glorious social media decks… and elaborating on the ideas behind some 16 core strategies addressing everything from the future of search to end-run maneuvers, safe harbors to social process.

Community strategies, content strategies, search strategies, business funnels, business models, metrics and monitoring. It was going to be a blog post buffet.

But then that funny thing happened.

I couldn’t write.

Focusing so intently as I was (I joke with my client) on “solving all the problems of the world” with his account, I found that the more I dug into the project and the more I was exposed to what became the Guinness Book of World Records’ biggest business pretzel, the less I wanted to write about social media and the more I wanted to just distill and gestate.

It really was a case of “the more you know the more you realize you don’t know.” And to characterize the depth of the great social media unknown, I’ve been writing on marketing and social media publicly for about four years and before that I’d worked in advertising agencies, marketing departments, and media companies since I was 19 years old. I was “engaging” in social when AOL had less than a million subscribers, and inadvertently doing real social media in 2003 before we knew it needed a name.

And here I am working on the Holy Grail Social Media Project and instead of grasping the blogging brass ring, I feel like King Arthur clomping around the English countryside with coconuts instead of horses. There’s so much to say and share about the social media sausage-making process from the trenches, but in the moment of development it felt… well, premature. Despite the years of marketing and media immersion, I felt oddly unequipped to communicate it in a way that would make sense of it all.

There was so much to assimilate… how could I stitch all my thoughts together into something cohesive when a lot of the puzzle pieces were still in various stages of materializing?

But hey. I’m a blogger. I wanted to write about it anyway. So I tried. I pushed the pen. But somehow my higher self knew it wasn’t time. My project was in full gear, but my blog post writing was in full stall.

Three months of brain-twisting hard work, and the final strategic recommendation and execution plan was presented to several levels of management last week. (Happy to report it was very, very well-received). And now, the little voice that wouldn’t let me write and wouldn’t let me share has finally relented.

As I sweep back the cobwebs of the admin dashboard of The BrandForward Blog, I look back at the half dozen blog posts I started during the project development, I see clearly now that they wouldn’t have been fully baked if I’d overcome the writer’s block and pushed them out anyway. Sure, I could have written short, Seth Godin-style posts about a single little topic that doesn’t need much elaboration. Stretch the copywriting muscles just to get something on the graph.

But that’s not me. I’m in exploration mode, in heavy learning and discovery and not going to hesitate to admit it. A career is better served always moving forward and ahead of the curve, which means you rarely get the luxury of knowing all the answers. But you’re definitely always searching for them, and once in awhile maybe even have them toward the front.

And anyway, I don’t like to say (or blog) something if I’m not prepared to back it up with a well-rounded, logical rationale. And the soup just hadn’t simmered enough.

There’s something unexpected that happens when you face a deep challenge that draws on everything you’ve learned over your career, and adds another layer on the journey to your next frontier. You feel like an astronaut that used to be so content to gaze back down at Earth from your little bubble window… until you turned around and looked into the vastness of space and realized what you’ve known is such a tiny speck compared to what’s out there.

Sure, you’re one of the lucky ones that made it off the Earth. You’re an astronaut, after all. Building Facebook pages while old schoolers were still building brochures. Designing communities while most are still designing printed newsletters. But it doesn’t matter how much we know about social media and marketing today. When you push past the inner planets and start approaching deep space, it’s obvious there’s a whole universe we’ve just barely touched.

I still love the day-to-day of social media… the tweeting… and the liking… the sharing. But I can’t help feeling it’s a little like hanging out in lower orbit. I’ll still do it… it’s far better than being stuck on the ground gazing up at the stars. But not nearly as rewarding as quietly facing the great unknown.

Have you ever slowed your social media activity at some point? Why?

Did your perspective on social media change when you returned?

What did you learn while you were away?

We all had a good laugh this week when JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater used profanity over the plane’s announcement system, stole a couple of beers, and slid down the emergency slide after a passenger cursed at him. (And in a stranger-than-fiction moment was arrested by police at his home while reportedly in flagrante.)

Now that the guy is out on bail, you’d think the whole thing would blow over in a couple of days. At least after the requisite articles, parodies, jokes, and late show appearances.

But something happened that’s pushing this whole thing back into the spotlight. At least from a social media case study perspective. A few members of the JetBlue Twitter team responded to some obviously tongue-in-cheek tweets and got called out for lacking a sense of humor.

Not a big deal, right?

Oh yeah, the tweeter that JetBlue responded to just happened to be famed satirist and reporter Andy Borowitz of The Borowitz Report.

Acknowledging his tweets is like poking a stick into a wasp nest. Doing it without a sense of humor is like sticking your whole arm in there.

The JetBlue Twitter responses weren’t necessarily social media smack talk, and certainly nowhere near the level of Nestle’s little Facebook tirade a few months back, but considering that responding to a Borowitz jab is the equivalent of pressing the big red button to confirm WWIII, you have to wonder what the JetBlue tweeters were thinking. The JetBlue Twitter responses lacked JetBlue’s familiar light-heartedness, and did little more than encourage a Twitter throwdown.

Borowitz ran with the ball and continued to tweet JetBlue jokes, leading followers in the Twittersphere to dub it a “Twitter War.”

JetBlue’s Twitter stream went dark for about 10 hours after the Borowitz incident and the next update simply stated JetBlue would not be commenting on an ongoing investigation.

Um, little late for that. It’s already gone from zero to take-off.

In the ensuing hours, a more polished social media response began to emerge that resonated with the JetBlue brand in a way the Twitter responses didn’t.

On JetBlue’s blog, the writer embraced the situation in a self-deprecating voice… with just enough humor to remind you that you love JetBlue almost as much as Southwest.

The JetBlue Facebook Page discussion area also filled up with posts calling for mercy for Steven Slater. JetBlue tastefully posted a link to the blog post within the Facebook Page, and continued to allow discussion without giving any appearance of censorship.

Everything that JetBlue has done AFTER the initial tweets has been right on target:

1. JetBlue used its venues strategically and soundly, choosing to communicate a response in a blog post instead of blanketing its channels with defensiveness.

2. JetBlue kept its voice real and human and didn’t switch to stark language and tone.

3. JetBlue left its channels open for comment and engaged in the discussion.

So what happened on Twitter?

In an Advertising Age article, JetBlue’s Twitter response is defended, asserting that not responding to Borowitz would have reflected a nonchalant attitude about the issue and encouraged lawsuits.

Considering there were other tactics engaged that handled the crisis both professionally and in-brand, it’s more likely the corporate tweeters were shut down after making personal decisions to respond to Borowitz.

From a brand perspective, a community channel isn’t the right place to break brand or scold a follower or commenter. A well-defined channel strategy that clarifies the purpose and boundaries of each venue is essential to the foundation of a social media effort. And a mandate that community managers stay in brand voice on all channels at all times should be the prime directive.

Conversing in social media may seem like a “just a conversation,” but it’s so much more than that. Every tweet and every response has to come from the soul of the brand. Even in the face of crisis or criticism.

1. How should a brand respond to a crisis? Do you think breaking with established brand voice is justified in certain cases?

2. Should a community manager or channel manager be expected to have an intimate understanding of the brand before taking over the community reigns?

3. Is there a right place for a brand to respond sternly to followers or commenters?

These days, trends pop fast. And they fade fast. Before you’ve even had a chance to run down to the mall, the latest craze is already sitting in the garbage bin out back. Tossed aside like last season’s undersized clutch. So, what’s this year’s latest has-been item? Apparently it’s “authenticity.” It was all the rage 10 months ago, everyone had to have it. But now the mere whisper of authenticity and you get tweyeballed like the kid who wore Garanimals to 8th grade.

Yes, authenticity is apparently over. But never fear, just like the fashion world always has something new to replace the old, social media is trotting out its new must-have accessory:

Influence.

And the first superstar to strut it down the runway, Fast Company.

You know how there’s haute couture… artfully designed, carefully handcrafted, and respected for its simple elegance…. there’s also the knock-offs. Cramped and flattened in a fluorescently lit back room with a 6-foot ceiling in Chinatown. The ones that scream “Buy me! I’m only $50!”

Versus the ones you’d have to save for dutifully before being able to own.

Well that’s pretty much the gist of the Fast Company Influence Project.

Grab it now, grab it fast, grab it cheap. It’ll fall apart on you in a couple of months, but it looks really shiny right now!

Before I proceed to rail on the Influence Project, let me first say that I love Fast Company. Since the day I picked up my first issue I’ve been hopelessly attached to it and everything it’s stood for… brilliant entrepreneurs, technologies that change the world, innovative ideas and strategies that create empires. What’s a girl not to love?

So when happening upon the Influence Project, I was intrigued. Although, the name did give me a little pause because I’ve already been hesitant to embrace the whole Klout thing. But that’s another story.

After a few minutes of inspection, the first offense in this whole Fast Company “digital don’t” was readily visible. The experiment has a misleading name. Not sure how that happened, but I’m guessing someone didn’t have the dictionary app installed on their iPhone.

Because the definition of Influence is very different from the activity and result promoted in the Influence Project.

Influence:
1. A power affecting a person, thing, or course of events, especially one that operates without any direct or apparent effort. 2. Power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability, or position.

(From freedictionary.com)

Frankly, I don’t think they meant the “ability” to schedule auto tweets or mass DMs.

I’m not sure how “tricking, spamming, or begging people into clicking on your link as many times as possible” is anywhere near the same universe as influence. At least not true influence. And to see social media tweeps discuss their “formula” for trying to win the competition only reinforces its superficiality.

What would have been more befitting of a pro-business, pro-ethics, pro-future publication that’s trying to maintain relevance in the face of stiff digital competition would have been an experiment in something more profound and meaningful:

Engagement.

Well, they were scooped. Because a mere week after the flimsy Influence Project rolled out,
Old Spice p0wned the influence space with its viral video tweets. Real influence through real engagement. It couldn’t have come at a better time, making a clear distinction between “white hat” influence and “black hat” influence.

It’s really sad that Fast Company felt it needed what amounts to a “rickroll for business geeks” to get people to click onto its site. Fast Company is better than that. And a lot of the people who’ve signed up for it are better than that. I’m on that list. I’m an unapologetic social media joiner. I’m not going to say “Oh gee whiz, I wish I hadn’t signed up but oops! I already did so now I’ll just sheepishly apologize as my photo grows bigger.” I was curious. I was interested. I thought it seemed a little sketchy. But I did it anyway.

I posted my link on Twitter a few times until it started to feel icky. Icky as in I didn’t want to have to post it 20 times a day to make sure every follower saw the link and clicked on it. I didn’t want to get my hands dirty by doing something that went from “innocent fun” to not feeling right.

I didn’t want to sacrifice relationships just to send people I care about to a project I don’t believe in. I didn’t want to artificially leverage trust for something that’s really nothing more than an opportunity to see who’s got the biggest ego and the most lemmings. Or how high Fast Company’s traffic can shoot up between now and August 15th when the competition ends.

Me and my connections have better things to do with our time.

Like participating in the “real” influence project… tweeting the Old Spice man.

You’d think a huge multi-national corporation would have an ad budget. At least that was my first thought when I stumbled onto the GE crowdsourcing page in Google Moderater. And once I had a chance to read through it I had to also wonder whether they had a budget for a brand manager. Or even a copywriter.

Seriously.

Because that spiffy crowdsourcing tagline: “GE + You = Awesome” isn’t even trying to work. I mean, it didn’t even get out of bed this morning.

This is actually surprising because GE has done a pretty decent job of both brand development and engaging in social media. The “Imagination” positioning concept is off the hook. (Are we still saying that?) I loved it the first time I saw it. And 2006’s “Picture a Healthy World” campaign was recognized as a legitimate and successful effort in crowdsourcing.

I also read a post about their Facebook “25 Things About Me” that supposedly lists some interesting facts, although for the life of me I can’t find anything Facebooky besides some seriously unmanned Pages and Groups. A quick scan of the @GE_Reports Twitter stream demonstrates that the company and its social media team are friendly, engaged, and obviously understand social media and crowdsourcing. Although on the ge.com website, I couldn’t find a single connection to GE’s social media presence, which surprised me. Especially after reading a handful of glowing posts.

Maybe there’s some magical place where all of the GE social media gates open with a wave of the wand, but after about 15 minutes of googling, I was still only able to access the company’s social media presence in piece meal. But let’s overlook that for the moment.

The real question is… why… with all the company’s knowledge and experience in social media… why did GE choose to do a belly-flop on Google Moderator? No careful measuring of the wind speed, assessing diving board height and spring, no precise choreographing of a graceful world-class dive into a shimmering pool. No.

It was the kind of entrance that makes small children scamper and lifeguards escort you off the premises.

In a twist of irony, GE’s first sentence in their social media introduction talks about large corporations blundering into the digital space and how they want to make sure they don’t also do that. And then they unveil their master plan.

Hire a happenin’ social media agency? No.
Hire a rockstar consultant? No.
Confer with their myriad agencies of record? No.
Watch an episode of Gossip Girl? Okay maybe.

GE’s master plan (to make sure they don’t blunder in the social media space) is to consult the ultimate expert. You!

Because of course, GE + You = Awesome.

Why exactly is this an epic belly flop?

Branding
The whole reason I was inspired to write this post was because I respect GE, but this whole Google Moderator thing just doesn’t feel like the brand. It almost feels like a disconnected initiative, as though GE had nothing to do with it. I mean why would they lead with n00b talk about “blundering into digital” when the company already has a clear presence? Something just isn’t adding up.

The concept of asking consumers to think of ideas is certainly on-brand and ties in with “Imagination,” but the connection isn’t leveraged. Not even a little. It would have been an incredible opportunity to connect the brand with the consumer in an inspiring and interactive way. It could have been brilliant. Outrageous. Show stopping.

But instead it comes across like it was more of an afterthought, an idea land grab, or a hurried way to stick a tentacle into another pot.

And it feels like they’re splashing from one brand voice to the next.

Crowdsourcing
Besides the lost brand connection opportunity, the most disappointing part about this particular GE crowdsourcing effort is the lack of strategic guidance for the crowd. There’s no mention of what GE wants to accomplish, no list of global or local objectives, no brand preface, no nothing. Not even a hint. It asks for ideas for a “new media initiative” but is essentially encouraging willy nilly thinking. There’s a time and place for indulging in genius whimsy, but this project comes across a little too blandly assembled to be serious about inspiring that level of creativity.

Something good can definitely come from asking consumers to share thoughts and ideas. Something not so good can also come of it. Crowdsourcing is a promising tool with respectable applications (as well as some sketchy ones), but soliciting one-way ideas out of the blue, without creating a conversation and a relationship in the same space you’re “dialoguing” in, without providing meaning, without including guidance… (and doing it all in an off-brand voice!) is nothing short of flopping yourself into the middle of a crowded pool.

And hoping droplets of the splashing H2O magically sprout a rain forest.

For a crowdsourcing initiative, it isn’t nearly engaging enough. It’s traditional one-way communication. Sure, the whole thing is gussy’d up to look like a genuine conversation, but in actuality GE is broadcasting a request for suggestions, and then Awesome You and the rest of the hoi polloi respond. But in this instance you don’t get to engage on your terms. There’s not even a link to connect you with their already existing social media channels.

And because GE doesn’t provide any useful information in their Google Moderator call for ideas, the effort comes across less like a valiant search for a brilliant, strategic concept that wells up from the crowd, and more like an effort to cheaply accumulate as many ideas as quickly as possible. Without creating a connection with the crowd, without creating an atmosphere of two-way communication and reciprocal sharing in this venue it really looks like a rushed effort to round out a presentation deck with some snappy examples of potential tactics. It’s more grasping than crowdsourcing. And it’s beneath GE.

Instead of a graceful swan dive into the crowdsourcing pool, GE has officially landed a surprising belly flop.

Oh brother. Here we go again. Another social media caveman unearthed. And this time the offending brand was Nestle. If it wasn’t such a disturbing incident that damaged corporate trust in social media and harpooned a heritage brand, it might have actually been hilarious.

So picture this. Short-fused Facebook moderator (let’s guess, having a bad day?) gets into testy debate with FANS. Yes, you read that right. A Nestle social media representative gave attitude to fans on their 90,000+ Facebook page when commenters disagreed with a logo policy.

Commence hellstorm.

Okay, I know this sounds trivial. But you see, that’s the thing. Nothing in social media is trivial. Anyone participating in social media on behalf of a brand or company does not have the luxury of copping an attitude, engaging keyboard before brain, or attempting to put fans or followers in their place.

And they certainly don’t have the luxury of back-pedaling or ignoring the scene of the crime while things cool down. Oh no. If you’re in social media, you must be brave. Very very brave.

Because fans will not stand for attitude. They won’t tolerate smugness. And they won’t go away quietly.

Are we surprised that Nestle was the next big brand to experience epic brand fail whale?

Not after I came across this press release issued by Nestle looking for “FUNterns” to promote one of their product lines in social media. Seriously. They were looking for “digitally-skilled marketing mavens” for internships. The only real qualifications for these skilled mavens were that the applicants be at least 18 years old and feel equally comfortable on Facebook as they are having a night out on the town.

Oh, and love Butterfinger…

Yes, these are the elite qualifications necessary for “dudes” and “divas” to participate in a global brand’s social media.

I’m not sure who’s the real cavemen. The FUNterns or the ones hiring them.

Okay okay. To be fair, we don’t know if the FUNterns were researching, observing, and advising the seasoned marketing team or if they were given authority to represent the brand on a large scale. But after reading the back-and-forth on the Nestle Facebook Fan Page my guess is they’ll let pretty much anyone have a whack at it.

When employees without experience are allowed to research, create, advise, and converse in social media on a learning or supervised one-to-one level this is a GREAT thing. But if people with very little experience are given the responsibility and authority to engage 90,000+ people at their personal discretion, this is a not-so-good thing. Just ask Nestle.

Here’s why.

First, it hurts social media aspirants who want the chance to learn social media and turn it into a career. When big brands don’t take social media seriously enough to make sure an experienced marketer is (closely) supervising interactions and leading conversations with Facebook groups and Twitter followings, it creates an opportunity for inexperienced persons to inadvertently SCREW UP BIG TIME. Which means other brands paying attention become afraid to hire inexperienced persons. And then no one can get into social media at a big brand unless they have a master’s degree and ten years experience. And that’s not what needs to happen.

Companies need interns and other inexperienced learners. And those learners need the opportunity to gain experience and grow. But they don’t need to be thrown on stage. And that’s what social media is for a brand. It’s a world stage.

With all due respect, I know there are plenty of inexperienced people working in social media and doing a really good job. There will always be talented, discerning people of all ages who have an innate ability to do a job fabulously without a lot of experience. But these are the exceptions, and not the rule. As we’re seeing.

The biggest reason why letting inexperienced people have a high-profile role in social media is a bad idea is that the brand could get seriously damaged by what may seem like minor transgressions. I realize that to a busy marketing manager, an intern or a “social media heavy user” may seem to have the magic knowledge to engage in the space. But most interns and marketing trainees have never witnessed a public relations meltdown from the inside out; they’ve never sat in on a serious strategy session; they’ve never faced the fallout from a quarterly; they’ve never seen the results of a brand violation; and they don’t have any idea how expensive it is to acquire a single loyal customer (very). They just haven’t developed the respect for the brand and consumer that comes with exposure to a variety of marketing situations.

Without experiences like these, it’s hard to give social media the deference it deserves. Because social media can impact each of those scenarios in a big, big way.

That’s why company leadership can’t afford to allow marketing directors and brand managers to dismiss social media as “something the interns do.”

Brands and companies must pressure marketing management into allocating time to learn and engage in social media personally, and make it a larger part of their daily responsibility. A key part of their responsibility.

Not pawning it off on whoever’s billable time is cheapest.

Only then will they realize that social media is not an entry-level role. It’s quickly becoming a company’s most powerful connection to the consumer, and can be filled with tricks, traps, and land mines. For reasons of sheer safety, it should be conducted by members of the team who have a high level of marketing knowledge and a deep respect for the brand.

I mean seriously. If you bring in a spanking new employee or marketing trainee and their first responsibility is talking directly with consumers on Facebook or Twitter, the role can’t possibly be seen as all that critical. Not by the employee and not by management. But if that same role is something that an employee has to work up to over the course of time, one where they have to demonstrate their investment to the brand before they can be promoted into it, all of the sudden that’s a job people will take seriously. It becomes a position that more qualified people want, one they’ll have to work a lot harder to acquire.

And they’ll take it a lot more seriously once they get it.

To the uninitiated, social media is a casual conversation. One where you can let it all hang out, say whatever’s on your mind, and even occasionally engage in smack talk. But to the experienced, it is the holy grail.

Sacred, precious, and easily broken.

Social media is probably one of the most profound hiring tools we’ve ever seen. Gone are the days of basing decisions on fancy formulas, over-weighted college pedigrees, jumping at name-drops or affiliations, and (gasp!) eliminating candidates based on resume keywords.

That’s old school. That’s rote. That’s fail.

Today, savvy managers and recruiters are moving away from the formulaic methods of old, and are instead developing their social media evaluative skills, flexing their online intuition, and immersing themselves in social media to get an understanding of their candidates on a deeper level.

Recruiters, managers, and job seekers should be very excited by this. Social media is providing the opportunity to use more creative thinking and less box checking. It’s no longer who looks best on paper, who fits the pre-determined molds, and who can ace an interview. It’s now about assembling a picture of a whole person and being able to more qualitatively judge whether they’re a genuine fit for the company and can ace the actual position.

And what better way to do this than by getting a glimpse into their life, their personality, and their interests without the self-censoring that happens on a resume or in an interview.

To make the most of social media as a hiring tool, recruiters and hiring managers need to be even more savvy in social media than the people they’re looking to hire. Which means it’s time to dig in and get connected.

Tips for Leveraging Social Media in the Hiring Process

Tips for Recruiters & Managers:

1. Get a Head Start in Analyzing Social Media Footprints.

Not every job seeker is engaged in social media yet. Well, at least beyond Facebook. That means a significant percentage of candidates probably won’t have a strong social media footprint, and this gives HR personnel a head start in understanding the landscape. Take this time to get up to speed. You’ll eventually start to pick up on the realities that exist outside the Facebook bubble. As more candidates become active on a broader scale you’re already immersed and ready to evaluate with confidence.

2. Develop an HR Presence Yesterday.

Start to build your company’s HR presence in social media in the same way the marketing department currently does. Work with the marketing team to develop strategic, accurately-branded company HR accounts for all the relevant social media networks, and start engaging in two-way conversation.

3. Connect With Future Employees.

Start conversing and generously share information. Be an ambassador. Open the lines of communication. Answer questions and help candidates prepare for interviews. Don’t look at it like you’re doing their homework for them… realize that by engaging prospects before they put their game face on, you’re getting the opportunity to get a feel for their true personality and professionalism.

4. Eliminate Assessment Obstacles.

Use social media to eliminate the “glowing interview” syndrome, where a stellar interviewee turns into a lackluster employee. Not every potentially great team member will be able to shine in an interview. By exploring a candidate’s footprint in social media, you can better assess their real knowledge level, their experience in the field, and their enthusiasm. An interview environment is great for candidates with the gift of gab, but not everyone has that talent. Social media allows you to see what a candidate has to offer beyond their ability to sell themselves.

5. Dig for Dream Candidates.

Actively seek potential candidates online who are talking about your company, posting links to stories about your company, or responding to company and employee blogs. These are the people who are engaged, interested, and invested in what your company has to offer and may just want to be a part of it. Do deeper homework and use greater insight to discover the diamonds in the rough, the up-and-comers, and the great candidates that fall under the radar. This is also a win for recruiters who would rather come to the table with a candidate who has a genuine interest in the company and has been engaging with it, as opposed to a generic “Hey, I found you guys a rock star.”

Tips for Job Seekers:

As recruiters and managers get more engaged in social media, it’s of critical importance that everyone develops a social media footprint that represents their skill, energy, and professionalism. Even if you’re currently engaged in social networks, this is the time to bring your identities together and develop a strategic personal brand. It’s not good enough to just have a presence. It needs to be consistent and cohesive.

1. Invest Time and Energy Into Your Personal Brand.

Okay, you’ve heard this before. But have you given a critical eye to your personal brand? Step away from the Twitter for a minute and invest in some evaluation time. When you Google yourself, think about the search results from the perspective of someone who’s in a position to hire you. Is it clear who you are? Are your accomplishments easy to locate? Can you be found on social networks? Is your first page of results primarily leading to your links? This is the time to join key social networks you may have missed, update your information, and build on the “body of work” (eg. tweets, blog comments, posts) that represents your personality and your abilities.

2. Take Ownership of Your Identity.

Let’s say your name isn’t original and no fewer than 120 other people who are active in social media are also going by “Janey Smith.” This is a problem for building a brand because you won’t stand out as easily, and hiring managers or recruiters won’t be able to distinguish between you and all the other people with your name. (And what if some of them are in the same industry?)

If you were the early adopter Janey Smith, you’re in luck. You probably own janeysmith.com, the Facebook vanity URL, and the handle on most social networks. But what about the other 119 Janey Smiths? Easy. If you can’t own your basic name on at least the .com domain and the top social media sites, use a variation. ON EVERY SITE. Don’t just take Janey Smith when you can occasionally get it. Be consistent everywhere. If you’re a woman, you could combine your maiden and married last names (Janey Zucker Smith = janeyzuckersmith) or add your middle or first initial to your name.

Again, keep it 100% consistent on every network:

Facebook Name: “R. Janey Smith”
Facebook Vanity URL: rjaneysmith
Twitter Handle: rjaneysmith
YouTube: rjaneysmith
Linkedin Vanity URL: rjaneysmith

Don’t deviate! When you sign off emails. When you submit a resume. When you sign blog comments. In your bio. When you author an e-book. On proposals and RFPs. Anything. Make sure it’s clear exactly who you are. You are no longer Janey Smith, you are R. Janey Smith. Include your name or appropriate handle at the end of your correspondence, especially with recruiters or company contacts. If you’re consistent, it will make it easier for your social media footprint to be found and not confused with someone else.

Also, even if you don’t think you would ever use certain popular sites under your real name, GO GET YOUR VANITY HANDLE! Even if you think you want to keep your identity private. GO GET YOUR VANITY HANDLE! I’ve learned my own lesson on this one when I recently came across an indiscreet user with my name who apparently spends a lot of time posting on WebMD about her pregnancy and sex life. Yikes! I was careful to manage the Michelle Tripp brand early on, but ignored sites where you wouldn’t expect people to use their real names. (Seriously, medical issues?) So decide on your unique name and secure the handle and URL on every site you can find. Even if you never plan to use most of them. At least your brand is protected. And you won’t be cringing when “Janey Smith” tells the world how often she’s having sex in her second trimester.

In case you’re able to get your unique handle on almost every network, but there are a few secondary ones where someone already has it, add an extension at the end. But do this only in an emergency when you have every other network secured. When YouTube first came out, I was still keeping my online identity private and signed up using my standard confidential handle. (Back then, most of us were still worried about privacy and “stalkers”). At the time it didn’t occur to me to secure my name anyway, so at the advent of social media I had to create an account on YouTube under “michelletripptv” because someone else had registered “michelletripp” before I did. It’s not ideal but it’s a workable option when you’ve been able to secure your preferred name on most other networks.

When choosing your unique name and securing handles and URLs, I don’t suggest the “janeysmith1″ or jnysmith” alternatives. Unless you plan to put “Janey Smith 1″ or “Jny Smith” at the top of every resume, that’s not your brand and it’s not helping you build your social media footprint. Stick with letters. Be consistent. Yes, it’s hard to give up being known as the one and only Janey Smith in the entire Milky Way galaxy, but for social media and personal branding purposes, it’s just not practical. And certainly not helpful to recruiters or anyone who might want to investigate your experience and hire you.

3. Connect With Your Dream Companies.

Savvy HR pros are engaging curious candidates before they ever apply. If you’re interested in a company, start connecting with them now. Even if you’re currently employed, be true to your interests and join the networks of your favorite brands and start having conversations. Comment on blog posts, join in the tweet loop, become a Facebook fan, and get involved. Even if you don’t plan to leave your current job for a long time, spread your wings and connect with companies that matter to you.

Discretion and professional ethics will obviously be required when connecting with a competing company in a highly-competitive industry, but most bosses won’t assume you’re sharing state secrets or have one foot out the door as long as you spread your connections among multiple companies and industries, and if you keep public conversations light. For example, if you’re an Art Director and you’re starting to heavily tweet with or comment on Creative Directors of other agencies, your own Creative Director can’t help but wonder how long before you fly the coop. Yes, connect with your dream companies but don’t become a “public fixture” with them unless you’re ready for a hop.

4. Build Genuine Two-Way Relationships.

You’ve heard it a million times. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. An old cliché but more true now than ever. Almost any company you could want to work for has current employees who are active in social media. Even if they’re not officially representing the company, they’re still excellent contacts. These are the people who know what’s going on and who’s hiring.

Whoa there, coyote! Don’t run straight for the chicken coop. Be a good social media citizen and seek out people you sincerely connect with, don’t fake it. Be genuine, be honest, look for ways to help your contacts, and let them help you. Be authentic and build friendships across the board, not just with the guy who can assist you in the moment. It’s a fact, people love to help each other. Earn it by being someone worth helping. And always give back more than you get.

In the spirit of Halloween, let’s turn our attention away from the happy, bubbly things of Summer and focus now on one of the most ominous figures ever conjured.

The Grim Reaper? Nope.

Freddy Krueger? Nuh, uh.

Al Sharpton? (Surprisingly, no.)

Good guesses, all. But the evil of which I speak is a much more commonplace entity. But whose scary, intimidating presence is wholly undesirable all the same. Today, we shall shield our eyes and protect small children from:

(cue creepy organ music)

The Gatekeeper.

The person who controls access to the things you desire most.

Money, jobs, audience, advancement, influence, information.

We’re talking about the human resources manager who decides if your resume gets on the desk of the person who could actually hire you, or a one-way express ticket to the round file. The newspaper editor who decides if your prose is one of the few to be published. The receptionist at the doctor’s office who decides if your gaping head wound warrants a race to the emergency room.

The co-op board. The bouncer. The book publisher. The soup nazi.

There’s no surprise that the concept of a gatekeeper sends cold chills down lots of spines. The gatekeeper subjectively decides your value, your worth, and whether your contribution or presence is wanted or unwanted.

Ouch.

And to make matters worse, gatekeeper decisions are based on their own personal preferences, preconceived notions, time constraints, and political objectives. Or how long they were stuck in traffic. And by the very nature of their position they don’t have to explain any of it. Not a lick. Standing guard at the gate, they hold the keys to everything you want.

They wield. The ax.

Scary, huh?

Maybe Target has a viable candidate for replacing those illegal alien costumes.

Hmmm. But wait. Things actually aren’t looking so good for the gatekeeper these days.

Thanks to internet search and social media.

Gatekeepers act as a funnel, restricting the flow of information and access. That’s because all the things you want were typically hidden and protected behind a big, rusty gate. There was too much of you, and too little of what (or who) you wanted. But in the new world, our path to getting those things has evolved.

The whole purpose of internet search and social media is to provide unfettered access to people and information. If everyone still wanted gatekeepers and believed that restricted access was a good thing, or if we wanted to be spoon-fed information and opinions through a funnel, Google search wouldn’t be eclipsing newspapers, Microsoft wouldn’t have bothered to pour millions into Bing, blogs wouldn’t have any readers, and YouTube wouldn’t be taking over television.

I agree with Edward Boches in his recent gatekeeper post that many gatekeepers, such as newspaper and magazine editors, have earned the right to pass judgment through years of experience in their field. They have and they do. But let’s face it, there’s only one New York Times. And one Boston Globe. And one Wall Street Journal. And only one person at a time who holds the esteemed titles of publisher or editor at any given time. But there are probably thousands of people with equally valid knowledge and experience. I want to hear from them, too. And if it wasn’t for internet search and social media, their valuable knowledge and perspectives would be largely hidden.

Gatekeeped into anonymity.

Before the ubiquity of social media, the powers that be decided what got through and what didn’t. They had the exposure, and also the power to expose. Information didn’t get broadcast or printed, unless as the gatekeeper, they approved it.

Let’s face it. That’s a ton of centralized power. Sure, it was by necessity. There was a limited venue. A couple dozen printed pages. Or a 30-minute newscast. It might have been necessary, but was it honestly a good thing?

And what about trying to get through the HR department, or past the doctor’s office receptionist, or around a publishing house?

Good times.

So, are the gatekeepers still needed?

Bring on the money, jobs, audience, advancement, influence, information! We all circumvent the gatekeepers on a regular basis, and the results are the ability to proactively drive our own personal advancement. Social media, internet search, and technology have created a perfect storm for individual power and nearly unfettered access.

9 Ways Social Media Eliminates Gatekeepers:

Getting a Great Job
No need to worry about getting through the HR manager anymore. The person who has the real authority to hire you probably writes a blog, is on Twitter, contributes to online articles, and has a lot of personal information floating around that you can process to relevantly connect and get seen as a tangible asset, not just another resume.

Gaining Public Awareness
Instead of waiting for the local paper to write a story about your cause or hoping the local TV station covers your event, everyone’s doing an end-run: Blogging it, starting Facebook groups, YouTube-ing it, tweeting it, and using any number of social media tactics that allow for immediate exposure.

Publishing a Book
The resources for self-publishing are numerous, and it seems like everyone has an e-book these days. Not to mention Amazon’s new self-publishing service CreateSpace that will print your books one at a time as they sell.

Becoming a Writer, Columnist, Commentator
So many people dream of being a writer, but before the internet there were limited options. And of course, they all involved begging a gatekeeper to get you an interview with an editor, publisher, or news director. Today, everyone has the opportunity to create a blog or participate on someone else’s. Instead of waiting for the editor of a major newspaper to decide if your comment merits printing, you can comment directly to the article online. And if they don’t allow commenting, there’s sure to be a popular “parasite” blog (or maybe we should call it a “para site”) where your comment will reach an audience already interested in the topic. Your ability to turn this into a career is limited only by your drive, talent, and passion.

Being a Talk Show Host
For anyone who ever dreamed of being a disc jockey on a radio station, an MTV veejay, a TV pundit, or a talk show host, those positions have always been extremely limited in number and getting an interview? Nearly impossible. Entry level? Forget it. Someone has to die first. But today, anyone can host a podcast, create an online talk show, and build an audience.

Being an Actor, Filmmaker, or Celebrity
People are writing their own films and distributing them on YouTube. And getting a zillion views. People are streaming live video, letting viewers follow their lives in real-time or episodically. Famous directors are creating interactive shows where they have freedom from the studio gatekeepers (more on that later). And becoming a celebrity? Since the rise of social media (with some props to reality TV), everybody is a somebody.

Getting New Customers
In the business-to-business world, salespeople have to scratch and claw to gain access to decision-makers. But with social media, every minute you invest in building a relationship with a decision-maker is a minute well spent. And decision makers are generally happy to connect, especially with those who share their interests. Or run in the same social media circles. When you have something valuable to offer and believe in building relationships vs. building accounts, your days of cold calling (and trying to wriggle past gatekeepers) are over.

Getting a College Education
Competition to get into the leading universities is fierce. Twenty years ago if you couldn’t get into a top technology or business school, you couldn’t get access to the program at all. Today, open courseware gives anyone the chance to learn the same thing current students are learning. Okay, this isn’t for everyone because self-directed learning isn’t the path of least resistance. But for those who didn’t have access to top schools for whatever reason, the information is no longer a mystery wrapped in a riddle hiding behind an ivory tower. You might not get the diploma, but in our exponential future where individual inventiveness and quality connections will rule the day, your application of knowledge will be far more valuable than the paper proof that says you were exposed to the knowledge. (Except to the gatekeeper. Which you’re circumventing anyway, right?)

Gaining Access to Information
There’s so much healthcare information and diagnosis apps online that patients can now understand their symptoms better and make first-response decisions without being forced to obtain all their information in an office setting. And if your HMO doctor isn’t giving you enough feedback or doesn’t readily mention costly treatments, patients can go home and access that information and take a more proactive and informed role in their health. This also applies to law, real estate, travel, and pretty much anything else that used to require making an appointment and only getting limited access to information.

We live in some pretty awesome times. Getting what you want and living your dreams is now dependent primarily on your own desire and personal motivation. The tools and opportunities are all available. The gatekeepers may still be around. But just like the Grim Reaper without that ominous scythe, they just don’t scare us much anymore.

Can you think of some gatekeepers that are still around? How are they standing between you and the things you want?

Are there any other ways that social media and access to information have eliminated the gatekeepers in your life?

If you’d like to tweet this post, here’s a trimmed link you can copy and paste: http://tr.im/nogatekeeper

Which side are you on?

You know what I mean. There’s two distinct camps. There’s the marketing purists who grab claim to social media like it was an Oscars goodie bag. And then there’s the specialists, struggling to wrest away the social media prize, hoping to get out from under stuffy marketing’s death grip once and for all.

You see it all over the internet. A constant tug of war. Who owns social media? Who should be managing social media? Is social media a part of public relations? Or is it account planning? Or maybe it’s a broadcast medium? Or maybe it’s just some trick cooked up by bored Gen Y’ers as a way to look busy at their desk when they can’t be texting on their phones.

Lately I’ve come across some comments and articles that question whether marketing and branding are dead, and ask where social media belongs in the grand scheme of things.

What is Social Media?
In Social Media: So Easy a Caveman Can Do It I originally referred to social media as a marketing discipline, I think it’s probably more accurate to call it a function within the discipline of marketing. This establishes a hierarchy. Social media is not a discipline unto itself. It will always be inextricably linked to marketing because:

The global objective of social media is the exact same as marketing: Selling.

To directly sell, to assist a sale, or to influence sales. Before, during, and after. The ultimate purpose, when in the context of any sort of brand communication, is to sell. Not in a blatant, leisure suit kind of way. But in a genuine, connecting sort of way.

Whether it’s a national CPG brand attempting to build a connection to current and potential customers, or a job hunter using social media to sell their value to future employers. Or Tila Tequila selling her persona on MySpace for social currency. Social media is a tool for selling. It’s an innovative method to sell an idea, a connection, a product, a person, a belief. Or even just to sell trust and affinity.

Yeah, I hate the word “sell.” It feels so anti-social media. But that’s the authentic reality.

Some social media practitioners still argue that social media is separate from marketing. Mostly because marketing in a lot of companies has sucked for awhile and SM practitioners feel that marketing supervision cramps their style. But given the same global objective, would it make sense for a company to have two separate departments trying to achieve the same goal, with two different and equal leaders? That would be the equivalent of hiring two CEOs. If one is doing their job right, the other is redundant at best, a divisive force at worst. Marketing gets a bad rap as it is. The last thing the industry needs is a tug of war between two internal factions that basically agree on the same ultimate goal, but just want to battle for control and the satisfaction of being “right.”

Sounds a little like a holy war. Or the WWF. Neither of which ever really ends all that well.

Is Marketing Dead?
Traditional marketing has been a one-way communication, and social media has opened the gates to real two-way communication. If a marketer believes they can continue to send messages out into the ether in hopes that consumers will follow like lemmings, they’re missing the value of social media. And they’re missing the evolution of marketing. Marketing is not dead. It’s just in the process of changing. Social media doesn’t make marketing irrelevant. It forces marketing to dynamically change, to become more relevant, effective, and responsive. Social media gives marketing the opportunity to become more sophisticated, powerful, dynamic, and subtle. It helps marketing become what it was meant to be. To say marketing is dead in an attempt to elevate social media is like sawing off an arm of a still breathing body before hammering the nails in the coffin. Is marketing dead? No. But the traditional marketer that doesn’t evolve quickly is an endangered species for sure.

Is Branding Dead?
To assume branding no longer has a function because the consumer has control of the brand message through social media assumes that branding is linear. When done correctly, branding is multi-dimensional, powerful, and connective on multiple levels. To believe that branding is dead is to believe that a company can no longer steer its own ship. Or communicate proactively with the customer. Because that’s what branding is about. Communication. Branding isn’t dead. It’s more alive than ever. It’s so alive that it just had its peanut butter collide with social media’s chocolate. Something new, interesting, and enduring has been born. A more responsive form of branding.

Is Social Media a Broadcast Medium?
Social media is both marketing and medium. The confusion has to do with its multiple purposes and one generalized name. It would be a lot clearer to everyone if “social media” referred to the points of consumer contact (the medium), and “social marketing” was used to refer to the practice of social media marketing development (marketing). But as a community, we haven’t yet semantically clarified the two.

Whose Responsibility is Social Media?
The execution of social marketing belongs to everyone. To the Marketing Director. To the Public Relations Specialist. To the CEO, the janitor, and the interns. To your customers. To your best friends. And yes, even to your nemesis. Ultimately everyone connected to your brand in any way is going to be participating in social media on behalf of your brand. Whether you authorize it or not.

That’s why it’s particularly important to have social media managed by someone who understands marketing, branding, and corporate strategy, as well as emerging media. It’s not just about knowing how to engage a community online, it’s also about having the ability to spread the brand gospel throughout the entire organization and develop an inclusive culture that encourages employees to be advocates for the brand. So that everyone understands what’s going on and can more effectively communicate it everywhere they go, and with whomever they engage. Whether it’s on Facebook or in the produce section of Whole Foods.

This is the way it should have been done before social media and it’s still the way to do it.

The greatest companies have actually been practicing it for a long time and have healthy brands because of it. Whenever I’m asked about my favorite brands, I always bring up Herb Kelleher and Southwest Airlines. There’s a brand that got social media before social media got the internet. Southwest Airlines is an incredible example of why marketing and branding are still alive and well, and will flourish with social media. At the core of brand communication, whether it’s on Twitter or in the aisle of an airplane, is connection at an honest level that inspires the customer to become an evangelist.

Southwest Airlines proved you don’t need Facebook plug-ins or iPhone apps to build a brand. You just need human connection. Consistent and authentic.

So now that we have tons of new tools that marketers didn’t have 10 or 20 years ago, doesn’t mean it’s time to divide the marketing community into the technologically advanced and the traditional. Everyone who has the opportunity within a company to be a unifying force should aim to strengthen the marketing function, instead of looking for ways to prove that traditional marketing is no longer relevant.

Instead of the social media tug of war, it’s time for marketing and social media to join the same team. Be a supportive force in the evolution of marketing as a whole, and focus not on the fight, but on propelling brands forward.

Everyone is here for the same goal. The rope will move a lot easier if we’re all pulling it from the same side.

I mean really. Is it all that hard? Create a Facebook page, invite your 200 closest friends from pre-school, connect it to your Twitter feed, and voila! Instant social network. Climb on board one of the Twitter followbots to scrape up another 12,000 warm bodies and you’ve got rockstar influence, right? Time to turn your sights onto the beckoning world of affiliate programs and start rolling around in the $96,543 per week you’re supposed to be making. Or better yet! Find a job in social media. (It’s an actual industry, right?)

Yes! Social media! So easy a caveman can do it!

And boy can they. It appears they’ve even managed to get jobs working for large companies and trusted organizations. They’re really doing well for themselves!

In fact, this weekend I thought I was watching a Geico commercial but turns out I was witnessing the pre-historic fail whale of a Facebook app from the American Cancer Society. It’s kind of sad because ACS is a great organization. And one little social media mishap is doing some embarrassing damage.

Not to disparage the organization, but just because someone knows how to start a Facebook group and shows a little creative spunk doesn’t qualify them to handle social media for a national organization with significant brand value. Someone in the back office coming up with crafty ideas, can with the click of a mouse, take a 96 year-old organization and alienate its most loyal supporters.

Yeah. Social media is that powerful.

So what started the whole brouhaha? Over the weekend I noticed a Facebook status from a friend who’s a cancer survivor:

Hey, I thought it was a nice post. My friend, Rebecca (@rebeccaesparza) is big-time into cancer support groups, runs the pink races, relays, walks, all that. Good stuff. So it wasn’t a surprise to see that she was supporting American Cancer Society on her birthday, right? Um, wrong. When checking my Facebook feed the next day, it was a bit of a different story:

Apparently she didn’t realize that in joining the ACS birthday group she gave permission to update her status. (Anyone else getting that icky, slimy feeling?) Even Rebecca, who’s such a dedicated supporter had to admit she felt used.

Good cause. Bad use of social media.

Still think a caveman should be doing it?

Some days it seems like there’s a whole contingent of social media “directors” operating off of not much more than Mafia Wars and a Bebo account. Days like today. When the American Cancer Society is using members’ Facebook statuses to solicit donations. And taking some pretty hefty liberties by telling friends “don’t give her a birthday gift, donate to us instead!”

I’m trying to picture the Neanderthal moment when that idea came up. I’m still not clear if there were opposable thumbs involved.

With all due respect to a great organization, that one little oversight compromises a lot of brand goodwill and integrity built up by ACS over nearly a century. The organization makes a tangible difference for a lot of people. There should have been more care and attention given to what was going on in the social media department.

And this is true for every company and organization.

Social media is fast becoming the central hub for brand communication. It’s easily the greatest opportunity we’ve ever had for building brands. Or for tearing them down. I can’t think of anyone who’d hand over Ferrari keys to a caveman. But there are plenty of companies giving away control to employees who haven’t accumulated enough marketing perspective. Remember the Pizza Hut exec who so proudly announced the company’s new face of social media was going to be a Summer intern? Don’t be that guy.

Seasoned marketers and executives everywhere need to take responsibility for the development of social media and carefully guide and mentor those who want to be a part of it. Encouraging employees to participate and learn about social media is a good thing. But hiring them into social media management or high-profile consumer-facing positions and letting them execute ideas unsupervised is not.

I’m all for mentoring the next generation and I love the cycle of progress that comes from it. But I’m cringing as I watch the social media leapfrog where basic social media knowledge qualifies someone to direct a social media program. Companies do need to integrate social media. Just not backwards. The enthusiastic tech-savvy employee with the Twitter account should be executing tactics developed by a marketing pro. Not the tech-savvy employee having total autonomy over online brand voice because the marketing pro hasn’t figured out social media yet.

Or (yikes!) thinks it’s not worth their time.

Social media is powerful. It’s a marketing discipline that requires an emphasis on strategic planning. And a clear understanding of what a brand is, what its purpose is, and how to build it with integrity. So when you come across something like the American Cancer Society’s Facebook application that hijacks the status (and birthday gifts) of supporters, it’s pretty obvious we’ve got some social media cavemen running around that need to be reigned in.

Should we be clamoring for a mass extinction of the caveman? Not at all. Social media is the future of branding. It’s good for everyone to get familiar and comfortable with it. To learn it and engage in it. Yes, let the caveman be a part of the social media program. Teach them marketing, mentor them on branding, give them your Vesper Martini recipe. Help them understand what’s at stake every time they press “enter.”

The caveman may start off dragging knuckles at first, but as anyone who’s seen the Geico commercials can attest, a caveman has the potential to learn quite a lot. Eventually he’ll be wearing Kenneth Cole and listening to Thom Yorke.

And hopefully someday engaging in social media. In a full upright position.

I was just going to let the whole thing go.

But after a week of reading countless industry blogs praising Domino’s and its response to the now infamous viral video of two employees desecrating a sandwich, I just couldn’t. Not when Domino’s is being applauded for what’s essentially nothing short of splashing around the big fail whale tail.

Domino’s may know the recipe for the pizza that put 20 pounds on me in college, but it missed a couple of key ingredients on its PR strategy:

1) Speed of Response

Domino’s failed on two counts with speed. While I respect that Domino’s VP of Communications Tim McIntyre took action once he got news of the video, it wasn’t the company that identified and isolated the video and it should have been. Because of a lack of social media tentacles, precious time was lost. And a lot of people saw the video.�