“Research without insight is just trivia.” – Katie Delahaye Paine

Put simply, the 2009 NewComm Forum was a hotbed of insight dispensed and discussed by the new media communications elite. As appropriate for a research firm-sponsored event, the presentations and discussions were littered with heaps of advice and best practices.

Held in San Francisco, from April 26-29, the Forum catered to about 400 professionals from the communications, media and marketing industries. I honestly had difficulty choosing between the sessions – which were highly relevant and practical, as well as forward thinking. From the “New Business Models for News Organizations” roundtable discussion with Tom Foremski and Andria Carter to the “Social Media and Crisis Communications Revisited” keynote with Shel Holtz, the conference was pure bounty.

Beyond the lack of power strips for laptops, my only disappointment was that I could not attend all of the presentations, which were delivered in a break-out session format. Fortunately though, after the conference, many of the presentations were made available here for download.

The value of this conference is in its DNA as a product of the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR). If you work in communications, marketing and/or media and you’re not familiar with SNCR, you should be. According to the SNCR website, the organization is “a global nonprofit research and education foundation and think tank focused on the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society.”

Include this conference in your budget for 2010. Now.

NOTE – Stay tuned for highlights from “The New Organization Landscape for Marketing Communications” a presentation (not available for download on the SNCR website) by Brian Solis. I will also create a separate post regarding the “Trends in Journalism” session.

Whether your organization is b2b or b2c or non-profit, whether you’re a local business or global enterprise…and whether subscriptions and memberships are your business model or your gravy – now is the time to start protecting this precious revenue stream.

Here are nine strategies to get you on the path toward preservation – and, yes, possibly growth:

1.     Get creative with the packaging of your benefits and services

• Figure out what benefits and services are being used the most and which ones are not. What benefits and services are not being offered that would be logistically and economically feasible to add?
  • Ask your existing customers using a quick online survey
  • Study your usage data, trends, and patterns
• Pare down your packages so they include only the most popular and/or practical benefits and services and change pricing accordingly.  
• For your big customers who want the existing entire enchilada: Spice the package with a few extra features and benefits (again, base this on data/feedback) and increase your price for the “premium” package by 15-20% minimum
• Consider subscription packages for “niche” audiences – for example:
  • Verticals
  • Channels
  • Technologists
  • Millennials
  • Students / Seniors
  • Government / Non-profits

2.     Consider changes to your Terms of Service and/or Length of Contract (this can be extended or reduced based on your strategy and market)

3.     Offer an E-membership or E-subscription package at a greatly reduced rate

4.     Collaborate on a joint subscription/membership with another business or organization that may offer relevant, complementary services/offerings.

5.     Consider creating an online community as the heart of your subscription-based business model. Although it will require manpower to manage it, the technology is established and it’s free. Best of all, the community will be considered a valuable benefit in your subscription package.

6.     Promotions, Deals, Incentives, Limited Time Offers – Make them count. Don’t bother with 10 or 15 or even 20% off. Those offers will not move the needle in this economic climate. Try 20-25% off to start, buy-one-get one free, two-for-one, multiple seats, all-inclusive, 1 or 2 extra months added at the end of the contract, whatever…just make it compelling.

7.     Referral programs – It’s no mistake that this is lucky #7 on the list. The power and potential of this program alone – using the social web – is staggering (yes, even in this economy). To expound on this strategy would require a separate blog post.

8.     Testimonials – I know this sounds elementary; but when is the last time you updated your customer testimonials? Are they relevant to each of your target markets? How prominent are your testimonials? How ubiquitous are your testimonials and references (yes, this ties in to #7 too)?

9.     Make it as simple and seamless to renew as possible. Most important: Make it easy for your customers to give you money.

Note: If packaging creativity and flexibility are constrained by technology, it’s time to revisit your IT investments. Seriously. The collaboration and content management solutions out there today will astound you AND save you money and heartache in the near and long term.

Yes, I know the ego is tough to keep in check; so just consider this a helpful “check” list:

1. Don’t use Twitter as a replacement for Google
“Does anyone know what time Lost starts?”

2. Don’t constantly ask people to digg, stumble and vote
“Please, I hardly ever ask…can you digg this article?”

3. Don’t feel compelled to report on the number of followers you have (yes, we know where to find the number if we are curious)
“In honor, of my 1700th follower, I am going to kiss my Chia Pet.”

4. Don’t abuse the requests to retweet (unless it’s an emergency like an Amber Alert)
8 am: “Please retweet…” 11 am: “Please retweet…”  1 pm: “Please retweet…”

5. Don’t take an Unfollow personally and don’t report on your Unfollows
Why do you think anyone cares?

6. Don’t threaten to Unfollow your followers if they don’t start answering your questions and engaging with you as often as you want
Now that’s what I call “social.”

7. Don’t just follow people who share your exact interests and beliefs. Mix it up a bit. Follow people you disagree with
You may learn something new or gain a new perspective (or, at a minimum, become tolerant – now THAT’S what I call “social!”)

8. Don’t report your Twitter rankings
Again, who cares? Actually, some people might (like people who aren’t on Twitter – heh)…I don’t.

9. Don’t abuse Twitter as a primary tool to promote your events and products
As a marketer, I can tell when this happens. For those with a following, it is called “lazy marketing.” For those without a following, it’s called “stupid marketing.”

10. Don’t announce who you’re unfollowing
One more time: Who cares?

11. Don’t tweet your rules for following and unfollowing (if you must have these rules, maybe you can put a link to them in your bio?)
This takes away from the spontaneity and beauty of that whole “social” thing.

12. Don’t announce your Twitter Update milestones
“For my 10,000th update on Twitter, I wanted to hang a Disco Ball – but this is actually the 10,000th update. Does it still count? Maybe I’ll do something for the 11,000th update then.”

Anyone care to make this list a “baker’s dozen?” What are your thoughts?

UPDATES for 9 March 2009: 

• Don’t live-blog (on Twitter) about ongoing secret negotiations
• A Completely Unscientific (Yet Accurate) Look at Social Sites [this is good fun!]
• Are You a Twitter ReTweet Thief?
• Twitter Throttle [Tweak tweet flow from certain Tweeps using this handy Script]  

Photo Credit: FranUlloa (via everystockphoto.com)

With hordes of people looking for work and networking opportunities, why is LinkedIn creating upgrades and improvements for its business clients and recruiters? 

I understand that LinkedIn needs to make money…just like we all do. But doesn’t the carrot (in this case, the users – the folks who are in, about to enter or out of the job market) have to come before the donkey (businesses seeking consumer feedback and recruiters seeking talent)?

And wouldn’t a massive influx of new users – rushing to network and connect – create a carrot of epic proportions? Imagine doubling or tripling the size of LinkedIn’s user base. How appealing would that be for LinkedIn’s premium users, recruiter clients, and advertisers? The market research value *alone* is mind boggling.

LinkedIn has had plenty of time to prepare for this opportunity. It’s not as if we just started to get clued in about the unemployment numbers, which have been on a steady increase since the beginning of the year. And not just here in the USA either.

I know recently laid-off people who’ve gone to LinkedIn – either as new users or existing users looking to change their status. And it was a challenge. It’s a challenge because the system is not designed for the unemployed. It’s not designed for the self-employed either. It’s not designed for students or those who recently graduated. And it is definitely not designed for mothers who make side money working on the Internet from home. I could go on.

FOR EXAMPLE: Yesterday, I went over to LinkedIn to update my profile. Soon I was “wrestling” with the application to try to get it to do what I wanted and needed. I am a sole proprietor. I am my company. My company is me. I do not have a company name. Yet I had to supply a company name in order to continue updating my profile.

So who is LinkedIn really designed for?

Is it for young adults?  Or veteran professionals (as described in the 4 Types of LinkedIn Users)? If yes, then why aren’t there more options for posting references and recommendations? Users should be able to include references / recommendations / kudos from past colleagues, employers, letters, emails, graduate school applications, etc. Even with an enhanced search function, sometimes it is still not easy to locate a reference from 20 years ago – who may or may not be alive today and able to join LinkedIn.  

Another example: LinkedIn’s mandatory choices for “How Do You Know So and So?” are narrow and limiting (e.g. Why can’t we have an option for “Other” under Groups and Associations?) as well. The choices do not fully represent real-life situations.

So, to the folks who are designing and “improving” LinkedIn…

• Who is your primary community?
• What does your primary community need?
• What circumstances might lead the members of your primary community to either sign up for the first time or update their profile?
• How does your primary community use LinkedIn?
• Have you asked your primary community members what they want from LinkedIn?

Like anything, the ability to grow depends first on the ability to survive. So, basic needs must be met before indulgent wants. If I don’t fit into LinkedIn’s advertising demographics and LinkedIn doesn’t fulfill my basic needs (to update a profile or change geographic location), does that mean I should look elsewhere for a different business networking platform?

I’ve been a member of LinkedIn for about three years. I’ve always considered it to be a valuable resource. But lately, it feels like LinkedIn and I are starting to grow apart. This was most recently validated when I tried to contact Customer Service “as a user” a number of times with no response. Shortly thereafter I gave LinkedIn another ping “as a business upgrade prospect” and received an immediate reply. So maybe LinkedIn is going through some growing pains of its own. Maybe it’s time for LinkedIn to further refine and hone its business focus so that it matches its own projection of the ideal advertising demographic profile.  

In the world of Web 2.0, there’s no such thing as a “lock” on the market or a “defacto standard” product. If LinkedIn won’t meet the needs of the people in this rapidly growing segment – the unemployed – they will go elsewhere. Or more likely – create their own version of LinkedIn.

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1. RESEARCH and identify the blogs relating to your space
2. READ, read, and re-read those target blogs
3. RETRAIN yourself to listen more and talk (broadcast) less
4. RESPOND with thoughtful comments posted to target blogs
5. RELATIONSHIP is key, so start to develop one with the blogger before you pitch
6. RECIPROCITY in the relationship matters. So let the blogger get to know you as a person (and you should have some sort of online presence, too)
7. RELEVANCE is highly relevant. Your pitch content must match interest of the blogger and his/her community
8. REALLY SHORT pitches. Brevity counts! A three-liner is great. Shoot for the ultimate goal: 140 characters or less. Teaser pitches are OK.
9. REVIEW target blogs for Pitch policy icon or Pitch policy; if no icon or policy, then ask (a great way to introduce yourself)
10. RELEASES need to be social, as in template and tone
11. RESPECT bloggers – as most don’t get paid; so in reality, their time is even more precious
12. ROLE REVERSAL. It’s not about you or your company. Put yourself in the blogger’s shoes. What’s in it for the blogger?
13. REALIZE that – like PR – Social Media (e.g., blogging) is based more on the Social Sciences, not technology
14. RESOURCE. Be one for the blogger and blogger’s community; bring value (even if it means connecting blogger to another PR person) to the community and conversation. Be helpful and human.
15. REAL. Be transparent and authentic. No B.S.

Thanks to the following folks for inspiration:

Renee Blodgett
Jennifer Van Grove
Brian Solis
Todd Defren

And last but not least…
Toby Bloomberg
In particular, I am especially grateful for Toby Bloomberg’s leadership in developing and sharing this most excellent series about blogger relations.

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As of 2007, there were 215,088,545 Americans (representing 71.4% of the US population) online. Of that segment, 48% (about 103,242,502) were online “Spectators” (including those who read blogs) in 2007 according to “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies.”

How does that data translate in terms of consumer-buying behavior? Recently, the Opinion Research Corporation released the results of a survey indicating that “nearly two-thirds (61%) of respondents reported consulting online reviews, blogs and other sources of online customer feedback before purchasing a new product or service, with search engines being the preferred method of conducting the research.”  In addition, 83% of those surveyed said that online reviews and product evaluations had a direct impact on their purchasing decisions.

If you own a business and you want to stay “open” for business, you need to consider the implications of these trends. At one time, it was okay if your website was like the Sun – the center of your online universe. Today, your website needs to be more like Jupiter – massive in size – in terms of its online pervasiveness…with its multiple moons representing different facets of social media, including blogs. And Jupiter’s super-strong magnetic field would represent your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts and your website’s interactive elements.

So what or who now holds the distinction of representing the Sun – the center of your universe? Your existing and prospective customers, of course.

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If you work for a living, there’s a good chance that you, too, will get googly eyed about the notions put forth in this work. Executive managers will get solid advice for creating/sustaining a dynamic, competitive, and successful business. And if you’re part of the team ranks, the paper offers validation of the existence of dynamic, satisfying, almost Utopian work environments.

Cornell University’s June 2007 “HR Spectrum” newsletter highlights the paper, Dynamic Organizations: Achieving Marketplace Agility Through Workforce Scalability, which  was authored by two industry heavy hitters: Lee Dyer and Jeff Ericksen.  

Achieving marketplace agility requires the ongoing reallocation of business resources, including human resources, say Dyer and Ericksen. Therefore, workforce scalability, “the capacity of an organization to keep its human resources aligned with business needs,” is required for marketplace agility.

To achieve workforce scalability, you need two ingredients:

1. WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT
Otherwise known as Getting Everyone on the Same Page, a priority for marketing communications / corporate communications / HR

      a. Top-Down Process – Integrate HR planning with business planning 
          Is this a pipe dream or does it really happen in some  companies?
      b. Bottom Up – Instill a shared mindset
          Branding, anyone?

2. WORKFORCE FLUIDITY
Strategy for quick, seamless, and painless change management

     a. Acquiring Talent: Pre-Qualify Sources
        Prepping trusted sources, gathering referrals, and social networking are key examples
     b. Releasing Employees: Routinize Outplacement 
        Employees are “released” for various reasons–valid or not.  This report refers to clinical outplacement strategies necessary for business growth…this may sound cold, but it is beneficial – like a forest fire inspires new growth, so, too, does routine outplacement. 

     c. Enrich the Talent Pool 
        Niche competence doesn’t cut it anymore and neither does hiring someone who EXACTLY fits requirements of a job description. Dynamic organizations need talent with broad- and future-based potential as well as the ability and propensity to Free Think.

     d. Facilitate Interpersonal Connectivity
        Yep, encouraging those water cooler conversations can actually pay off – literally.
        More from the research on this particular topic:

“…breaking down barriers that inhibit communication in typical organizations, such as beliefs that knowledge is power (and thus should be hoarded) and the formation of sub-cultures and cliques, while building up infrastructures that facilitate communication, such as smaller units, communities of practice, open-plan offices, and state-of-the-art organizational intranets. It also involves enhancing opportunities for small, rotating groups of employees to get together on a social basis…”

     e. Expand Role Orientations
         This one is IRL validation of Item C. Essentially, dynamic organizations give official permission for employees to go Out of Bounds and Explore New Opportunities

     f.  Unleash the Talent Pool
        Organizational constraints such as static budgets and departmental conflicts further restrict the talent pool in its ongoing exploration of new opportunities

     g. Align Incentives
        OK, cutting to the chase:

“…first, to pay all employees (not just executives) well above prevailing market rates in hopes of encouraging the attraction and retention of the very best talent and, second, to base a significant part of this lavish pay on organization-wide results (e.g., profit-sharing) in an effort to keep employees focused on the big picture.”

The research paper calls the aforementioned items “Guiding Principles” but I call them Employee Benefits – both financial and otherwise – that would create an undeniable Utopianesque work environment…a dream scenario for employees, Human Resources, and – ultimately – the business. In reality, each one of these Guiding Principles deserves its own blog post based on its own merits.

Rewards come in many flavors. And, although monetary rewards equal employees’ employment raison d’etre, I believe that each of the above Guiding Principles is just as valuable as a paycheck.

What do you think folks? Can you put a price tag on OTJ principles such as out-of-bounds explorations, social interactions, individual empowerment, uninhibited information sharing, and evolutionary career training? 

Is it really like this at Google? Tell me. Tell me.

The possibility is givin’ me (and Wall Street) shivers, along with googly eyes.

All they need from you is the vision, some tools and the freedom to perform. Finally, you must trust that they will perform – within the purview of your superb leadership.

It’s a myth that the concept of managing people is the same as leading people. It is an even bigger myth that micro-managing people is somehow the same as “carefully” leading people. It will serve you well in your future endeavors to embrace and honor this distinction….

To further illustrate, it’s okay to manage projects, work/life balance, stock portfolio, anger, and weight – just not people. It is also perfectly suitable to manage time, budgets, processes, and crises…again, just not people. The closest one should come to managing people should be in the event of a riot or evacuation. But even then, this is often referred to as crowd “control” – an altogether different concept from leading or managing and, thankfully, not a typical scenario in business.

Leaders who inspire, guide, motivate, empower and enable people will achieve great results…outstanding results that will be undoubtedly driven and achieved by the very people with whom they had trust and confidence.

Can you recite the names of today’s successful businesses? Can you truly answer why they are successful? Are they experiencing growth through M&As or do they simply have great leadership? Dig a little deeper and you may find that true leadership has little to do with “managing” people…as is the case with Internet powerhouse Google, which also ranked #1 in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2007. 

Gary Hamel - management consultant and author of the soon-to-be-released book, The Future of Management – comments on Google in this Wall Street Journal article:

“The Mountain View, Calif., company is packed with intriguing, distinctive ways of running itself, he says. These include radical decentralization; small, self-managing teams; a just-try-it approach to rolling out new products before they are fully finished; and a willingness to let engineers spend sizable chunks of time on offbeat projects.”

Vision. Tools. Freedom. Trust.

Astounding results.