Who is talking to me?
When everyone was at Blogworld Expo about a month ago, I wrote a post about how I felt like the structure and pricing of events in the Social Media marketing space was kind of…out of whack. The keynote speakers are scheduled for smack dab in the middle of the day. The events occur during the week instead of on weekends, many times. The set-up, I noted, made me feel a bit unwelcome.
Slowly, over the last month, I’ve been noticing that the structure of the events schedule in this space is a reflection of what is going on in this space every day. The surge of Social Media covers people who have made it big or who want to hit it big on their own. Where is the voice of the person who works for someone else? Where is the voice geared towards people like me?
My Two Goals
Earlier this week, I felt like my blog and my Twitter presence were having a City Slickers moment. I know some people feel ashamed to admit that they loved that movie. I still do! In one of the early scenes, Billy Crystal, who is turning 39, notes that he feels like he looks as good as he is ever going to look, he’s working as well as he’s ever going to work – and it’s just not that good. I was feeling like I had hit my plateau for my Social Media presence and it was all going to go downhill from that point.
After a conversation with Stan Smith, who is truly one of the most awesome people ever, I had another City Slickers moment. What is my one thing? Well, actually it’s two. I’m out here to spread the word that our family’s agency can help you do all kinds of things in marketing, and we can help you integrate various tactics together. I’m also here to help folks who, like, me, found getting started in Social Media to be quite the uphill battle.
My Two Goals are in a Different Stadium
If you look at the playing field of the Social Media world, you will see that these goals are not exactly the common currency. There is advice on how to grow your own business. There’s advice on how to make your first x number of dollars with your blog. There is advice on how to use ads on your blog so you can make money. There’s advice on how to do Social Media so that you can grow your business. It is all fantastic advice, and I absorb it all. But I can’t actually *use* a lot of it. I am not an entrepreneur who is sitting on a nest of little baby company eggs. I am not a president or CEO. I am not Director of Marketing at a humongous company. I am one of the employees of Clayman Advertising, a small agency that my grandpa started in 1954. I am not the boss. I am not concerned about how to keep my 27 minions in line because, well, we don’t have minions. I’m not worried about departmental warfare because we’re not really big enough to have armies, and departments in a small company would really just be a synonym for juvenile territorial conceit.
I am not out here to grow a Fortune 500 company, although if our agency could become internationally renowned, hey, that would be okay with me. But in the real world, I am here to let you know that we can help you, whenever, if ever, you need it. There’s nothing very entrepreneurial about that, right? In fact, we are at the polar opposite end of entrepreneurial. We are the old dame sitting on the porch watching the little ones play, but we are also in that crowd of kids playing all of the new games.
Who is talking to me?
Social Media is not my job
While we are in a business where keeping up-to-date on Social Media developments is essential, I’d be able to do my job sufficiently well, not great, but sufficiently well right now if I was not blogging every day or tweeting every day. I am happy I do this, because nine months ago I might have told our clients, “Man, I hear all the time how Twitter is great, but I just can’t figure out how or why.” Now I can explain the sense of community, how to network, and all of the other things you figure out by doing. But being out here in the Social Media world is not what I do from 7-5 every day. I wake up at 6 so that I can see what’s going on. I peek in as I am eating my 5-minute breakfast. I sneak peeks while I am waiting for a meeting to start or waiting for a phonecall. For me, this is a full-time hobby from the time I get home. It’s something I do on the weekends so that I can schedule posts out for the week.
In talking to Stan, the same thing is true of him and I’m sure many others. We work all day, try to eat dinner and do fun stuff (not that Social Media isn’t fun), and then, to use Stan’s word, we hustle. Because that’s the way the game is played. But in all of that hustling, there isn’t really someone talking to us. All of the advice about just telling your boss to go eat an ice cream cone – that’s not real in my world. It might be really motivational to someone who is ready to jump on the entrepreneurial trail, but that’s not real for me.
Who out there is talking to us worker bees? Who is talking about the people who didn’t get laid off over the last two years, but who were able to stay, fight and grasp and pull and fight some more? Who is talking about the fact that now, only just now, are things starting to look a bit rosier in the world for folks like me? Who is talking about the fact that Social Media really helped, but it wasn’t the end salvation?
There are some voices missing in Social Media, the voices who offer advice to folks like me. Are you looking for that kind of advice too?
7 Comments
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
There’s a big divide that isn’t spoken about in Social Media: some people can do wonderful things promoting themselves, and some people can do that same work on behalf of others.
Looking at the vast majority of heavy hitters in the SM arena, I think many of them are expert self-promoters, which is a good thing. What we have so little of is expert client-support marketers in Social Media. The trainers, the consultants – and I’m not talking about self-declared gurus, I’m talking about technicians, tacticians – not strategists – who represent their own work in fantastic ways by promoting others.
Why the gap? Because people who promote others rarely promote themselves.
Yes/no/waffles?
That’s an interesting observation. I would note that the big names began by promoting themselves or their companies but now use that pull to promote others, but their process of getting to that point will prove to be quite different from what folks need to do now.
Hmm. Food for thought. Thanks, Ian!
Marjorie, two days ago, I spoke (face to face) with Blog World’s founder Rick Calvert about your recent post regarding his conference and its fees. He was quite eager to learn more about you, as a result. The conference is not pricey, if you register early, and no more money than comparable events in other fields. I skipped Rick’s October event because I felt that I couldn’t afford it this year (and was ignorant of the “early bird” registration fee). Conferences don’t divide bloggers and social media marketers; in fact, they unite them. Unfortunately, there just isn’t room on the bus for every player, like most things in life. But conferences like Blog World do provide great advice for all, including “sidelines” professionals who promote others, not themselves.
Well, I certainly don’t want to imply that BlogWorld is the worst offender or anything like that. It’s like I said in that post, I totally understand why these events are priced the way they are. The number of speakers that are brought on, the number of books that are handed out – I get that. That’s why I was hoping there would be a way to create some small venues that maybe would just meet on a Friday night, with maybe 1 speaker and books you could buy separately. More bite-size, rather than Thanksgiving.
I have no doubt that conferences are excellent – that’s why I am so frustrated that I can’t seem to make it to any of them!
Interesting thoughts here, Margie…
I think we have a lot in common. I work full time in a position where my social media presence really isn’t part of my duty, but I chose to be online to see what it’s like, and they’re more then gracious allowing me the freedom to be myself online. I like to think I’ve gained a good standing for just a regular guy online, and what I’m doing sheds a positive light on my company.
I’m on on there for them, though. And I’ve got nothing to gain for myself either. I’m not after fame and fortune. Not going to become a multimillionaire just hustling, but the contacts and the discussions that crop up online are still worth the effort.
So… while all the self promoting people promote themselves, and gurus work on making each other famous without any time for the little guy, who’s talking to me? Well… you are! And I’m talking to you. Sure it’s not always something profound and actionable or monetizable, but at least we have someone to talk to.
Well thanks, Jay! I think you represent your company very well though. You interweave your company’s approach and your experience into the #custserv chat and offer insights elsewhere as well. I try to do the same thing.
So yes, you talking to me? Cuz I’m talkin to you 🙂
Boy am I late to this party! Bob told me about your post and sent me a link that same night Margie. I gave it a quick read but had planned on writing a long reply and didn’t have time as I was on the road at another event. Then it got buried in my email (. I apologize for being tardy.
Long story short it sounds like we have done a poor job of communicating that our event definitely is for someone like you.
Here is a break down of job titles from our attendees at “Social Media Business Summit” (that is the track at BlogWorld that would most apply to you):
17.5% are C level executives. Most common job titles are CEO, CMO, CIO and CTO.
12% are Owners, Partners, and Founders.
12% are VP’s. Most common job titles are VP of Marketing, VP of Communication and VP of sales.
30% are Manager and Director level.
Most common job titles are Marketing Manager/Director, Community Manager/Director, Social Media Manager/Director, Sales Manager/Director.
28.5% have other job titles. Most common are Blogger, Editor, Digital Strategist, Social Media Coordinator, Social Media Evangelist.
As you can see nearly 60% of those attendees are working for the man and do not own their own business. The #1 job title is community manager. 97% of our attendees said the event exceeded their expectations and they would recommend it to their friends and colleagues. People like you are seeing value in attending our event.
Who is our core attendee? It is a very diverse group but you can find one thing in common between everyone of them. They are all looking to learn about creating, distributing and monetizing content.
Everything we do revolves around content creators. We provide education for business owners and executives at our event because they more they learn about new media, the more opportunities that creates for content creators. Either by selling advertising and sponsorships to that newly educated business, or by being employed as a contractor or staff member at that company.
About pricing, our “exhibits only” pass is $25. that gets you on the show floor and access to all of the keynote sessions and networking with thousands of peers at the event. You can get a conference pass for $300. That is definitely inline with any professional tradeshow / conference for any industry.
As for your last point about the sheer size of our event; no doubt BlogWorld is big and we plan to get a lot bigger as our industry grows. Our goal is to be the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) or NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) for the new media industry. Our industry needs an event like ours just like other mature industries have. There is tremendous value for everyone involved to have an industry wide gathering. I will leave all those benefits aside in attempt to not make this comment any longer than it already is.
Lastly; there are definitely some great one day, half day and even hour or two long events in just about every city of the country. Check for your local Social Media Club chapter, and search MeetUp.com for blogging and social media groups. You will find lots of folks getting together to talk about social media/ new media.
again I sincerely apologize for not commenting a long time ago.
Rick Calvert
CEO & Co-founder
BlogWorld & New Media Expo