Archives for February 2009

Discussing Social Media with… Sonny Gill

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media.

With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.

My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.

Sharing his views today is social media strategist Sonny Gill. His work emphasizes community-centric strategies through the use of social media. My sincere thanks to Sonny for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with Sonny or find out more about him, please visit his social media blog or connect with Sonny on Twitter.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Ah, the elusive answer that many of us seek! Well, here?s my personal definition: Social Media is the new technological means that help us build, enhance and grow our communications channels, as well as our relationships ? online and offline.

What is your reason for using social media?

Community ? simple as that. I was intrigued by the medium a few years back as I became acclimated with the space by reading some of the top blogs in the industry. I was amazed at how a group of people, that you may or may not know, actually cared about what you had to say.

I?ve always been a marketing nerd at heart but the possibilities with implementing social media into the mix were endless ? but more importantly, it gave me a place where I could better connect with people and actually build relationships with them.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

Not at all. We all have helped pave the road to get SM to where it is today, but there?s an even longer road ahead. That road consists of further education to clients, executives, naysayers ? those who don?t understand how it can benefit their company but more so, who brush it off as a fad or a shiny new toy. It?s more than that and it?s our responsibility to prove them wrong. I think we all should keep this in mind as we move forward in this industry.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

I can usually be found on Twitter for the better part of the day, along with Facebook and LinkedIn. Twitter is my original social media stomping ground. It?s where I first ?got it? and it?s where I?ve been able to connect with hundreds of people that I would not even had the chance to speak with otherwise.

Facebook has always been a safe haven for me and my personal friends that I grew up with or went to college with. Now, it?s kind of shifted into both personal & professional as I connect with people from my other networks and further build our relationship there while having the ability to share media (pictures, video) easier than I would on Twitter.

Lastly, LinkedIn is a site that I?ve always praised and hope that all my close friends and colleagues actively utilize. It?s your online resume, your background check for potential employers or clients, your own research tool. I connect with colleagues, old and new, as well as friends. I never know who I may need to know for that next pitch or possibly for that next employer ? staying connected gives me a greater chance for an introduction, for myself or for a friend or colleague that?s in the same boat.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

I think 2009 will bring SM to the forefront of marketing and communication strategies across many industries. The economic times is a sometimes overworked topic but one that can be addressed with social media, as there?s low monetary cost, though makes up for with the soft-cost of time.

For myself, I see social media further expanding my knowledge in the industry and in marketing as a whole. The great thing about SM is that everyone is willing to help, grow and learn with you. There are no limitations in this industry, as it?s all a matter of how hungry you are. Personally, I hope to utilize the skills I?ve learned and implemented within SM to hone my skills into a role where I can help a company maximize their potential, by tapping into what?s most important to their business ? the people.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

Some are but most don?t get it, yet. With all its glitz and glamour, social media is still slowly being adopted by the corporate world. They?re getting their feet wet as some are on Twitter or have started a blog.

What misses the boat though is how they?re conversing with their community and the amount of time they?re putting forth.

First thing for them to understand is that social media is an extension of their current strategy, which needs to be understood throughout the entire company?s culture, as it?s not an end-all or going to save a failing strategy.

Listening and then communicating with your company?s community is a great initial step but use social media to help your community, not the other way around. This topic could definitely go into an entire post of its own but listening and learning is a good start for businesses to improve their use of social media.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

I think by far the worst use of social media is the implementation of an MLM (multi-level marketing) strategy through Twitter. These tactics guarantee a massive amount of followers but what then? They fail to realize the time and effort aspect of social media and that it takes a lot of both to connect and build relationships, not numbers. They?re not utilizing Twitter for the benefit of conversation or relationships; they?re using it to get tons of followers.

Though this is one of the worst uses of SM that I?ve personally seen, it?s not something that?s sustainable. It?s easily seen / avoidable and the people who?ve done it will soon realize that there?s nothing more to their communities, than numbers, when there?s no substance behind it.

photo credit: Matt Hamm

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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Want To Help The Sick Children Hospital Canada?

I don’t often ask for your help via this blog. I feel it’s kind of intrusive, and almost like I’m being a pimp. While the snazzy clothes of a pimp might offer me a funky new look, I’m not sure what it would do for my (perceived) street cred. So, no pimping.

However, there’s something I’d really like to ask of you. A small favour that would mean a lot.

I’m in the running to win a contest to choose the tagline for a new publication. The Printed Blog is a pretty cool idea that takes blog posts and transfers them to print. People can then pick up issues and read them like a normal newspaper. It’s a nice way to bring traditional and newer media together.

Anyhoo… The prize for the winner of the contest is a Nintendo Wii. What I’ve decided is that if I win, I’ll donate the Wii to my local Sick Children hospital in Toronto. It’s one of the largest and most respected hospitals worldwide for the care, treatment and research towards kids illnesses. It helps kids locally, nationally and internationally. Basically, it’s an amazing place.

I’d love to help make the lives of these kids a little more fun-filled, and this is where you can help. If you could visit The Printed Blog’s competition page and vote for my entry, that would be cool. It’s the one that says, “Your Voice. Our Voice. One Voice.”

Voting ends on Thursday February 26 at 11.59pm Eastern. Thanks to some great support via Twitter, Facebook and email so far, I’ve jumped into the lead. Now the task is to try and stay there until voting ends.

If you have a spare 5-10 seconds and you don’t mind helping, would you mind visiting and casting your vote? No registration needed – a simple button click and you’re done.

I’d love to be able to go to the Sick Kids hospital in Toronto and hand over a brand new shiny Wii. I’d love your help to make that happen. Thanks for reading, and fingers crossed!

Updated Friday February 27 – Thanks to the immense support and votes of the Twitter community, as well as Facebook and email, I’m delighted to announce my tagline won! Thanks to everyone who voted and I look forward to handing over the Wii to the hospital when it arrives.

photo credit: delayed gratification

Reverse Mentoring

When you were a kid growing up, who was the wisest person to you? Who you’d go to with your secrets and questions? I’m guessing it was probably your granpa.

Why is this? Why did we feel that our granpa was the person we could go to? Was it because we felt they offered a safer sanctuary from stuff that we didn’t want to share with our parents? Or was it because they were older than anyone we knew, so they must be wise?

Whatever the reason, one thing that can’t be denied is that older people have a wealth of experience behind them for many things. So why aren’t we using it?

I read a report the other day that said CMO’s are disappointed at the calibre of business students coming through their doors. They wanted someone who could hit the ground running, and this just wasn’t happening.

Of course it’s not going to happen. Students are only as good as the teaching, and this is suffering because of cuts in public funding to schools and universities (even dedicated business ones). So it’s a Catch 22 situation: no funding = less teaching = less knowledge.

At the same time, there are a host of older business people who are being cast aside from an age point of view. Many businesses are taking the approach that younger employees are the future as technology and business practices change, thanks to social media.

While this might be true to a certain degree, it’s not as clear-cut as these businesses think. Older people are getting more involved with social media, as anyone who attends the AgeOp chats on Twitter can attest to. And they still have an immense amount of experience built up over years of being in business.

So here’s an idea.

Reverse Mentoring = Simple Economics

Younger people know social media but don’t have business experience. Older people have that business experience but don’t necessarily have the social media knowledge. Isn’t there a simple correlation here?

Businesses can sponsor retired or semi-retired professionals to talk to business students and offer their years of knowledge and experience. This gives the students access to untold amounts of knowledge and skill-sets that they’d otherwise miss out on. It should also help appease the CMO’s who’re complaining about student knowledge.

On the flip side, the younger students coming through can help the older business professionals understand and adapt to social media quicker. This can either help them in their current jobs, or use it to combine with their retired or semi-retired status. Everyone wins.

It can’t be as simple as that. Can it?

photo credit: Alexandra Groza