Marjorie Clayman’s Writing Portfolio

Professional writing profile of Marjorie Clayman

Archives for October 2010

You never know the whole story

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A few days ago, I saw a video floating around on Facebook and Twitter – it was a speech by Scott Stratten, otherwise known as @unmarketing. Often, when you see speeches or videos flying around, you almost want to avoid clicking because you know it just can’t be as good as everyone is saying. However, I decided to give this one a chance. Here it is:

Before watching this speech, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what Scott Stratten was about. Sure he had done some really amazing and cool things for charity, and I had heard that he was a really nice guy. But I had also seen some of his speeches, seen some of his Tweets, and I’m in the process of reading Unmarketing, Scott’s book. I thought, “Ok, this is one of those guys who really is nice but who likes to give the impression that they are kind of jerky and intimidating.”

Can you still feel that way after watching his speech?

I admit that I had drawn conclusions about Scott based on what I had seen on Twitter and in his book. I was wrong. I only had skimmed the surface.

What’s happening away from that computer?

All of us who use Social Media have a small fence drawn around us and our computers when we sit there. To different extents, we like to create personas for ourselves online. We determine what people will learn about us through our online activities. And yet, it always seems surprising to us that people draw conclusions about us based on what they see through our Facebook updates or our tweets.

Factually, you can’t really know the whole story of a person just based on what they do in the world of Social Media. It’s easy to think that you do because, after all you see this person “talking” to you perhaps on a daily basis. But there is that whole world extending beyond that little fence that ties you to your computer. We don’t get to see what goes on there most of the time.

I have learned an important lesson beyond what Scott presents in his speech. You don’t really have a true fix on people based on their Social Media presence. You aren’t really seeing their entire life story. You don’t really know everything that is going on around them.

Will this affect how you interact with people? Will this affect how you yourself act on Social Media sites? For me, it is something to ponder.

Warning: The Wall Street Journal is Playing on Your Fear

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This extraordinary post is by my friend Tommy Walker. Tommy is an Online Marketing Strategist and has been doing various forms of internet marketing since 2005. His final calling came from being fired over a pair of
pants.

He spends an obscene amount of time online; if when away from the computer you’ll most likely find him singing karaoke or networking at a local Tweet-up. You’ll find more rousing snarkiness on twitter:
@TommyismyName

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported…

“Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the
social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying
information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some
cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking
companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.”

…Putting Facebook in the spotlight yet again for “Privacy
issues.”

This post is a rant.

Are Facebook apps really selling you out? Or does “Facebook in Privacy Breach” sound like a headline designed to grab attention?

I vote for the latter.

If you read the article, you would get the impression that Facebook was previously unaware of a very large security hole.

“The information being transmitted is one of Facebook’s basic building blocks: the unique “Facebook ID” number assigned to every user on the site. Since a Facebook user ID is a public part of any Facebook profile, anyone can use an ID number to look up a person’s name, using a standard Web browser, even if that person has set all of his or her Facebook information to be private. For other users, the Facebook ID reveals information they have set to share with “everyone,” including age, residence, occupation and photos.”

But look again at the image above. “Request for Permission… Access my basic information… name, picture, gender, networks, user ID, list of friends, and any other information I’ve shared with everyone.”

Alright, maybe I’m taking the wrong approach. I understand if you’re concerned about Facebook sharing your public information with app developers, and the developers then share your information with marketing firms. When it’s not made abundantly clear that is what is happening, it can seem shady, but in the end what harm does it do?

As a marketer, I am constantly looking for new ways to engage my target market. As a consumer, I hate advertisements that have nothing to do with me. If the data that I’m inputting into my profile helps other marketers of products that I might like, or find useful, so be it. In the end, I’m not being blasted with crap and the marketing firm isn’t wasting their money. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a win-win situation.

In fact, I wish that all marketing agencies had access to my profile information. I wish that advertisements were tailored to my interests. I wish I could stop getting irrelevant direct mail, and that I could get “special offers” for products that my existing interests pre-qualified me for.

God what a wonderful world that would be! I wouldn’t have to search for things I like, because marketers wouldn’t be wasting their budgets on unqualified people. They would be targeting me, and I would want what they have.

Here’s another way to look at it- You know Pandora ? You know how they help you discover new music based on music you already specify that you like? Imagine that’s how all marketing worked. You only see ads for products you might like based on your other interests. How much informed do you think your purchases would be? If the marketer knows that you’re going to want to do more research, if they’re smart, they’ll have the research available to you. Furthermore, they’ll use what they know about you and other’s like you to know how to present that research, so not only will you have what you’re looking for to make an informed decision, you’ll have it in a format that appeals to you.

What do you think? Is personalized advertising the way of the future? Or should the marketing community continue to doing the same thing it’s been doing?

How to be a good Social Media Citizen

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A lot of what I talk about these days narrows down to how to be a good citizen in the world of Social Media. So, for this weekend’s presentation, I thought I would tell you about the 10 rules I try to follow to make sure I am living up to my own standards of citizenship. I have gotten more rewarding experiences and more enjoyment since I started following these rules. I hope they work for you as well!

Why Teaching is an Important Part of Being Human

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This guest post is by my friend Mark Dykeman. Mark Dykeman is the founder and main brain of Thoughtwrestling, a blog devoted to better ideas, better achievements and better life. For more great ideas, follow Mark on Twitter

Margie honored me by including me in her group of teachers to follow on Twitter.  The thing is, I’m not a teacher.  But I am… sort of…

I’m surrounded by teachers in my family tree.  Everywhere I look there’s chalkdust and exercise scribblers strewn about the branches of my genealogical cedar.  (I like the smell of cedar, plus it’s an evergreen.  Evergreen is good.)  Both of my parents spent a lot of years in classrooms, trying to insert knowledge into audiences of varying receptiveness.

Teacher used to be a dirty word

I never wanted to be a teacher and I’ve never had that word in my job title.  I never wanted it to be my job, never wanted to deal with children on a daily basis and I never thought that the summers off was really that much of a carrot.  Students have a love/hate relationship with teachers.  Teachers sometimes have to take a lot of crap from their students.  Classroom teaching doesn’t equate to fun for a lot of people (which is an unfortunate thing).

However, we’re faced with many opportunities to teach, whether it’s on the job, as an informal mentor, a friend, or a parent.  With rare exceptions, we always have some bit of information that someone out there doesn’t have.  Actually, I’m not sure that I have anything to teach Bill Gates or Steve Jobs:  it depends how many comic books they’ve read in the past two decades.  But I digress.

Who teaches the experts?

You know how someone watches the stuff you do and sees something completely different?  That’s how I feel about Margie’s comment.  This isn’t a criticism, just a surprised reaction on my part.  When Margie referred to me as a “teacher” within Third Tribe (3T), an online community that we both belong to, I was really surprised.  I mean, that place is full of entrepreneurs.  Pretty much all of them are more successful than 90% of the people who “work for themselves” for a living.

What in heck can I teach those guys?  It’s like a leaf telling a tree how to get big and strong.  I am not an entrepreneur, at least not in the self-employed sense.

There are three thoughts that have allowed me to get my head around her kudo.  So, let me teach (!) them to you, dear reader.

Keep on learning

Good teachers don’t stand still.  They continue to learn.  They read about their subject matter, their skills and techniques.  They practice and refine their delivery.  They try different things.  Many of them go back to school themselves on a regular basis!  I’m a lifelong learner, no question about it.  So yes, this fits.

Share what you know
Despite my lack of entrepreneurial experience, I do try to share things from my own experience.  I’ve been doing that on my blogs for years.  I’ve done it in a work context many times and outside of work as well.  I’ve shared parts of my online (social media) knowledge in a number of places.  So, yes, I’ve probably earned the Share badge in social media scouting.

Here’s the way I look at it.  You might not be a genius or a master, but there’s always someone somewhere who might benefit from your experiences.  If nothing else, cautionary tales are valuable!

Answer questions

Like I mentioned above, you always know something that someone else doesn’t know.  If you’ve been an active member of a community for awhile then you’ve absorbed knowledge.  If you see someone asking questions, especially beginner questions, you’ve just found an excellent opportunity to be helpful.  Just think of the kid who’s lost on their way to their homeroom at school… you could be a hero to them by giving them five seconds of help.

Learning and teaching is a continual cycle

Maybe I am a teacher, even if that’s not my official title.  That’s OK.  In fact, it’s pretty cool.  Any occasion to make a positive difference in someone’s life is an important opportunity.  The thing is, you don’t always know when your knowledge can be the thing that turns a frustrating situation into a happy ending.  It pays to keep your eyes open just in case.

Bonus:  if you keep learning and growing, you will find many more opportunities to help people, which is really what teaching is.
So, Margie, you were right:  I am a teacher.  But so is Margie.  And you can be, too.

Being a teacher is not a dirty word.  It’s just a part of being human.

[Editor’s Note from Margie…I told you so 🙂 ]

Image by Piotr Lewandowski. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/ywel

#30Thursday Post Number Nine (Yes it’s fine!)

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Well, I have to say, I am pretty excited about how this week’s #30Thursday turned out. There are a few resounding themes, and I’d love to say that I planned it this way, but this is just what people are writing. They are writing about bullying and why they care. They are writing about how to be the best you you can be. They are writing about how to lift others up.

Pretty amazing, huh? I think so too.

And no, I probably won’t make all of the titles of my #30thursday posts rhyme – but it’s fun in the meantime. Please enjoy these fantastic posts!

1. The first post this week comes from @LouImbriano, who notes wisely that our focus should be on building, not selling. Scott Stratten of Unmarketing would adore this post 🙂

2. A very thoughtful post by @Juliemangano called “I was bullied.” I think a lot of people will be able to relate to this post. It reminds us that bullying, whether online or offline, can leave deep scars that are hard to forget and hard to ignore.

3. Mike Myatt wrote one of the best definitions of influence I have seen. How to create lasting influence – a post that shows influence is probably more than just about numbers and who clicks what.

4. My friend Paul Konrardy sent me this post from ProBlogger Darren Rouse. It’s from 2007, showing that the problem of online bullying has been going on for quite some time. Check out What A Buddhist Monk Taught Me About Blogging

5. This post created quite an uproar across Social Media sites. Great post by SME Examiner regarding three myths about guest posting. Lots of actionable items to think about here!

6. My friend @CelsiusMI brought this post from, well, MediaPost, to my attention: “Why Marketers Shouldn’t Give Up on Twitter,” by Jessica Michaels

7. This was a really interesting post by Alan Belniak for MarketingProfs (The Daily Fix). I saw Jason Falls tweet it out. If that isn’t a clue how great this post is, I don’t know what to tell you 🙂 So check out Are you really marketing or just advertising?

8. My friend David McGraw has a great idea for the month of November – remind yourself of why you should be grateful every day, all month. It’s a project called 30 Days of Gratitude. Are you in? Because I sure am!

9. My new friend @Greetums, who has been a major supporter of my efforts in the Social Media Safety project, wrote a beautiful and insightful post called Confessions of a Bully. A must read for sure.

10. @melissa_ful tweeted this post to me by Ezra Klein, and I think he has a great message: Why it gets better. Neat way to piggy-back on the “It gets better” campaign.

11. @galactic sent me this extraordinary post from August Turak at AdAge.com. In What Bolsters the Bottom Line? Selfless Marketing, Turak invokes Joseph Campbell’s concept of the hero’s spiritual journey and what advertisers can learn from the success of movies like Devil Wears Prada. Read this extremely interesting post, and you won’t regret it!

12. My friend Heidi Cohen got published at Clickz.com. Her post, titled Stop Experimenting with Social Media, offers some fantastic actionable items for integrating Social Media into your marketing efforts. Some of the comments she received are a bit shocking as well.

13. This was a fun post that my friend @gagasgarden recommended. By Clint Franzen, “It all started with a call to a local guy offering guitar lessons in piano” notes the wonder of seeing a student exceed expectations and head right towards the pinnacle of great success.

14. Speaking of my friend Gaga, she has a delightful little post this week about greenhouses, tequila, and how kids will hold on to the strangest sayings 🙂 Check out OUI Built a Prefabricated Greenhouse for $142.00 by this lovely lady.

15. Is “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” the best approach? Carol Phillips tweeted out a post by Mariam Shahab that ponders this question, and whether it’s just Generation Y that doubts this old adage.

16. My friend Tommy tweeted out this very useful post from Hubspot.com called 6 Easy Ways to Get More Visitors To Your Blog. A must-read!

17. My friend Allen Mireles tweeted out an interesting post written by Erica Naone for The Technology Review. The post is titled Social Coupons: Good for Business? The answer might surprise you. Then again, it might not 🙂

18. My bloggy bff @pushingsocial said this post was a must-read. I would tend to agree, although again it might be a bit self-serving posting a link to this from #30Thursday. Still, the info is great! Curating Information as Content Strategy, by Valeria Maltoni

19. Jordan Cooper (@notaproblog) wrote an outstanding post for Jason Falls’ Social Media Explorer called Community Managers: Whose Best Interests Do You Serve? The question extends to any portion of the marketing world these days. A lot to ponder here.

20.  Chris Brogan introduced me to a fellow named Jim Mitchem, who wrote a FABULOUS post on the bullying issue, simply called On Bullying. Jim comes at the issue from a logical space, and he creates a great read.

21. An amazing Vlog by Keith Ferrazzi called Your Turning Point. Who was there at the moment in your life when you needed someone the most?

22. Suzanne Vara’s fantastic post of the week for me was 8 Tips for Embracing Change in Social Media. Suzanne and I agree that a lot of what advertising taught marketers can be carried over into the world of Social Media. She details why, beautifully as always, in this post.

23. Sure, I’m biased, but I think this post by Jay Baer rocked the house. The 7 New Roles Agencies Must Play to Survive Real-Time Business. For insights into the ever-changing world of us agency folk, go here!

24. Megan Knight hits another one all the way out of the ballpark over at DawnWesterberg.com. Expanding on her original post, which I highlighted last week, Megan details how nonprofits can use Facebook, and best practices. Tremendous information!

25. @tommyismyname notes that we seem to be heading to a world where Minority Report seems kind of feasible. Normally, this would scare my wee pants off. However, Tommy writes about The Future of Marketing so well I’m almost kind of excited about it. Almost. 🙂

26. This post by Mark Dykeman is really really interesting – a game of “Where’s Waldo” with truly severe societal ramifications. Check out Develop your observational skills by spotting the photoshopping. Great post!

27. Jason Mikula did not rest on his laurels after last week’s fantastic post about Apple and customer service. This week, Jason analyzes a spectrum of Twitter customer service, then explains how companies can use Twitter to respond the right way. Give part 2 of Customer Service in the Social Media Era a read!

28. My friend Patrick Prothe wonders if there is room in business for kindness. This is a very detailed post, a mixture of helpful information and the human touch.

29. One great thing about my friend Maya (@MayaREGuru) is that she makes you want to jump up and save the world with her posts. Point of Ignition is no exception. I love reading uplifting blog posts like this!

30. I really thought this post by Chris Brogan, called Move On, was interesting. What is kind of a thorn in my business side (Social Media conferences) is like the kitchen table at home for him and many others. And yet, we all have a kitchen table somewhere, don’t we? What really matters, though, is what you do beyond it.

I Thought You’d Never Notice

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This post is by Dawn Westerberg of Dawn Westerberg Consulting. You’ve heard me mention Dawn many times. She is a great teacher, she is passionate about business, and she practices what she preaches. In this post, Dawn reminds you how you can make sure you are putting your customers first.

This one stopped me in my tracks:  More people are on the Do Not Call registry than voted in the last presidential election.

This country is absolutely united in our fervor to tune out one another’s marketing message.  Avoidance wins in a landslide.  Oh, Mirror in the Sky what is love, and, while you’re at it, what is a marketer to do?
Let them know that you are interested in their story before you begin telling your story.  Or, put another way, get to know them first, and wait for them to ask you, “What is it again that you do?”
This really applies to anyone whose attention you want to have: prospects, customers, colleague, boss, prospective employer, influencer, Twitter friend.  A sincere, gentle, appropriate curiosity is infinitely more attractive than a formulaic, hammering, forceful pitch.

On a scale of one to a hundred, if you lead with the pitch, the listening score on the part of your prospect is in the single digits if not zero.  I’d be willing to bet on zero and that their thoughts are racing around devising all possible ways to detach themselves from your monologue.  However, if you get to know them first, demonstrate that you are interested in their story, in their business – after they are done sharing, they are very likely to ask you “What is it again that you do?” When they ask the question, their focus is on your answer.  They are actually listening.  And with each follow up or clarifying question or comment, they are inching towards the right and double digit interest.  Much better conditions for gaining mind share, don’t you think?

So how do you gain the information necessary to ask questions that demonstrate your sincere interest in them?

Google Alerts Set up a Google Alert on all customers, prospects and individuals  as well as the industry or sector they serve.  When you see something of general interest, you can send them a link with a personalized “I thought you might find this of interest” note.  When you see that they have won a key account or an award, you can send a note of congratulations.  When you see them quoted in an article, you can comment on the topic at hand.  I really like this approach because I’ve found that 70 – 80 percent of the time they had not seen the article mentioning them or their company.  It’s welcome news that lights up their day and you’re the one that brought it to their attention.

HARO, Help a Reporter Out Recently I signed up to be a “source” on this free site.  Three times a day I receive summaries of the various stories reporters, writers and bloggers are seeking input.  I read them first to see if any of my clients, prospects or referral partners would be qualified to respond (then I look for opportunities for me).  So far, I have found three opportunities for prospects and two opportunities for clients.  All five people that I contacted were very happy for the lead.  Give to get.

Handwritten note I look for any opportunity to send a handwritten note.  A card, hand addressed and stamped, tends to stand out from the rest of the pile.  Often it is a repeat or continuation of a thought conveyed via email (with the link from my Google Alert reading or the tip on the HARO story).  I include my business card in the notes.  If there is an occasion for me to call  instead of getting voicemail 80 percent of the time or being asked to leave a message, my call is getting through; and my handwritten note and email communications are always mentioned.

RT and a #FF It is a small kindness to ReTweet or give a Follow Friday mention on Twitter.  Most of the time, the folks who are on my lists are new or not so active on Twitter.  I look for their Tweets and look to provide encouragement in this very easy way.

Referral Because I do a lot of homework on the business of my contacts, I’m always on the lookout to provide them with referrals.  Granted these opportunities are few and far between, but when you are actively looking for these opportunities, youíd be surprised how many instances present themselves.

Margie has written a lot about The 7 Habits here, and this post is probably an example of making deposits into the emotional bank account.  More importantly, your relationships have at their foundation an attitude of service.  What are the ways you demonstrate that you are willing to listen and learn in order to develop relationships?

Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/amminopurr