Are You a Marketing Pooh or a Marketing Eeyore?

This past week I attended a talk by Scott Stratten in support of his two-in-one “Book of Business Awesome/Book of Business UnAwesome.” The presentation was hosted by the Social Media Club of Detroit.   

Scott Stratten is the high-energy president of UnMarketing, a witty and passionate purveyor of spot-on advice to companies about what he terms “authentic marketing.” He is on a mission to help position brands as a trusted partner to target markets.

Marketing Yin and Yang

The book presents a clever “two in one” model. One side of the “Business Awesome” cover shows a cheery red ladybug and the subtitle “How Engaging Your Customers and Employees Can Make Your Business Thrive.”

Midway through, at page 122, you come to “the awesome end” and flip over to the other side… a parallel “unawesome” universe (think if it as Bizarro Marketing World) showcasing a bloody splattered ladybug on the cover and the subtitle “The Cost of Not Listening, Engaging or Being Great at What You Do.’

UnMarketing's Scott Stratten talks circles of influence at Social Media Club of Detroit event, Motor City Casino
(photo credit: Deborah Edwards-Onoro) 

Here's an insightful review of the book, which says it all really. Stratten provides useful information in the short chapters, each providing as much depth as a blog post with pithy examples of either marketing done right, or marketing done very badly. The section on the blatant misuse of QR codes in marketing is especially engaging.

Which Do You Choose?

What’s interesting to me is that the book serves as a “personality” indicator – with which side do you begin?  Do you delve into the “awesome” side  showcasing the best of today’s social media marketing? Or do you delight by starting with the “unawesome” side filled with cringe-worthy examples of marketing initiatives gone astray?

Is it indicative of a marketer’s level of optimism or pessimism as to which side they flip to, considering the Yin and Yang approach?

Pooh vs. Eeyore

The decision as to which side to first select is similar to a personality test about what Winnie the Pooh character you are most like in The Hundred Acre Wood. 

Will a positive marketing “Pooh” Bear start with the Business Awesome side, and the dreary Marketing Eeyore start at Business UnAwesome?

Even despite claims as being a “realistic optimist”,  I’m most definitely a Marketing Eeyore.  I was compelled to start with the Business Unawesome side, and delighted in each of the short marketing tales of woe.

Which are you most drawn to -- Pooh Bear Business Awesome or Eeyore Business Unawesome?

Bonus!  

Check out this online audio archive interview with Scott talking with WDET's Craig Fahle.  

10 Twitter Tips for B-to-B Events – (the first 8 need to happen BEFORE the event…)

Using Twitter at an Industry Event? Most of the Work Comes Before the Event

A business-to-business client recently asked me to pull together top tips for using Twitter at an industry event.  The

client goal is to broaden the impact of an industry event via strategic use of social media.

There are smarter folks out there who have assembled good ideas for using Twitter at trade shows and conferences, including MarketingSherpa.

It’s All in the Preparation

After noodling ideas around and assembling the list, it is clear that the majority of these tips pertain to activities that need to take place before the actual event.   It’s not enough to fire up a Tweet stream the day of an industry or business-to-business event. 

The key concept here is strategic planning (isn’t it always, eh?).  Tips one through 8 assembled below, for example, have everything to do with pre-event planning and tasks.

As this blog has featured in the past, the power of Twitter lies in building relevant followers, culling those outside of the target in a systematic fashion, and connecting with folks on an ongoing basis.  Only then can the use of Twitter be effective for an industry event or tradeshow.

10 Twitter Tips for Events – (the first 8 need to happen BEFORE the event…)

1) First Things First:  Set the Event Hashtag:  Decide upon an easy to remember, intuitive and concise hashtag.  Use http://hashtags.org/ to check if it is a unique choice. Minimize the character count to maximize the chance for retweets, plus avoid meaningless abbreviations. For our purposes here, the sample Business to Business 2011 Conference hashtag will be #b2bconf2011:

2   Pre-Promotions of Hashtag:  Starting as early as possible before the event, promote the event hashtag on all outbound communications (email signatures; web; press releases; advertisements; HTML email; print; event  website; invitations; etc.)  include the following:  Follow the B-to-B 2011 Event proceedings on Twitter #btobconf2011

3)    Build Relevant Following Before Event: Connect and follow via Twitter with key influencers who would have an interest in this event (media; analysts; executives) as soon as possible before the event in order to gain key followers

4)    Build Interest Before Event: Direct message all relevant key followers about the event.  If they are not attending, invite them to follow the proceedings during the event using the event’s hashtag. Remember, you can only direct message folks who follow you.  See point 3 above, the key is to engage with relevant folks early.

5)       Coordinate a TweetChat During Event: Consider extending an invitation to Twitter followers or media not in attendance to ask questions, participate in panels as events are occurring using http://tweetchat.com/  during the actual event.  This can only work if there are followers who can’t attend, who you reach out to via DMs, and ask for participation during the event via Twitter. This depends on pre-event promotions to be worthwhile

6) Consider Stream Options: Before the event, take time to consider live streaming some of the conference session speakers integrated with a live Twitter chat.  See how to leverage livestream.com or http://twebevent.com/whatistweb

7) Prepare Promotions of Tweets/Hashtag During Event: Using large monitors, or on the presentation screen at the bottom of PowerPoint slides, set up a live feed widget at the event to showcase live Tweeting; include hashtag on signage, presentations during the event.  Remind presenters or any emcees to announce the hashtag for participants to Tweet from event. Consider adding a small footer to nametags “Follow Event on Twitter at #b2bconf2011”

8) Showcase Tweet Stream: Set up a widget on the client’s website, relevant blogs to display tweets using http://www.tweetgrid.com/

9) Organize the On Site Team: Establish two or three folks to be the designated Tweeters during the event. Assign sessions to attend to cover the entire event.  Tweet items of interest, engaging headline-worthy content and keep less than 125 char for optimal chance of retweeting by others. Consider a 3^rd party collaboration tool to manage Tweets such as Hoot Suite, TweetDeck, CoTweet or other tools to track who is saying what and when.  Use appropriate twitter handles  and other key words and hashtags and embed links of interest as relevant. Assign one team member to monitor tweet stream during event; correct any erroneous hashtags being used; reply to any questions or concerns that might come up (don't let a Tweet go by that complains about the event for instance, without replying and trying to remedy the situation); retweet and comment; or connect with others who are at the event

10) Steady Stream, Consistent Messages: Keep Tweets “human” and personal during the event, but stay on topic (for our purposes for the sample conference, keywords include #marketing, #socialmedia, #business, etc) which will help put this information out to those already following those key hashtags.  Intersperse live Tweets with scheduled Tweets.  A tool like Hootsuite makes it easy to create and schedule Tweets in advance.