Latest posts from Danny Brown

Enjoy the latest posts from Danny Brown, and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments after the post.

The Social Media Pedestal

This is a guest post by Bill Dorman.

Okay, I was going to jokingly say Michelangelo must have had me in mind when he sculpted this; but then that might imply I’m old and my FedEx?package could have been sent via regular mail instead of shipped. Now we wouldn’t want that as a persona, would we?

Throughout your life, somebody somewhere is always looking up to you; and sometimes it can create lofty expectations. Do you want to be there? Is it deserved? What responsibilities come with that?

This post is a reflection of the?admirations?and?criticisms?that occur in the social media world.

What are you trying to achieve?

You got into the blogosphere for a reason. Everybody has their own reason but I’m guessing it wasn’t to be a?lump?and just sit around without exploring or growing, right?

It appears most are hoping to monetize in some way whether directly through their site, or one-off in selling their knowledge or services.

Guess what, to do this you have to expand and grow your network, build your community as they ?say. The more you are involved in growing your network, the more?visible?you become.

I think they like me

Most of the time it is a virtual love-fest in the comment section of blogs. Everybody is gushing how great the article is, how great the author is, how their breath can’t possibly stink, etc. Typically, everyone only sees the ‘good’ you. Can you see how easy it would be for an outsider to assume your community has placed you on this pedestal? Maybe you even start to believe the hype; did you just breathe into your hand to check your breath?

My wife reads my blog from time to time and jokes about how much everyone seems to adore me and all the back and forth thanking that goes on. She said, “Yeah, let them live with you for 30 days and see how great they think you are.” ?I’m sure she says it in jest, ?but I do see her point.

Don’t get me wrong however, I like the compliments. For some this is the only payment received, so of course they like it; it’s validation. However, it’s only healthy to keep it in perspective and stay as grounded as you can.

Lofty height indeed

As you progress up the ladder, based on whatever measurement of success you are using, you put yourself out there for all the world to see. Your comments, strategy, your whole demeanor is subject to review, criticism and debate.

You do have to develop a thick skin, but do you think it also changes who you are? Does it matter?

Make no mistake, all things are not created equal and there are different rungs on this ladder. This hierarchy is real and to say otherwise would be naive.

You do seem different

Typically success increases your activity; and this requires more time. Because of this, the way you interact now can look different than it did when you started. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve changed per se, but you did change. Some people will resent your success and could be jealous; not everyone will be happy for you to succeed.

Is this the least of your worries?

You can liken it to the corporate world where you have a group of buddies (equals) who hang out together and one of them gets promoted to manager. Suddenly the dynamics of the relationship just changed, and it is different.

It’s still just me

People who want to be successful tend to be competitive. Success can bring recognition and sometimes it might appear you are on a pedestal for all to see. Leaders frequently assume this position.

Whereas success brings more attention, don’t be so quick to build someone up to be something they didn’t ask to be.

Keep that in mind in the way you might challenge someone, until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Just because they have had some success shouldn’t make them an open target. It’s all about respect and common decency.

Also remember, once you’ve been placed on a pedestal there is only one way to go. I mean look at that naked dude up there, you don’t think people aren’t laughing at him?
You think you want it, but are you ready for what it entails when you take that ‘step up’?

About the author: Bill Dorman is a blogger who enjoys networking and adding value to his relationships. He is an insurance broker by profession. You can find him any day at Bill Dorman, The Invisible Blogger, where all strays are welcome and you can even subscribe to his content. Follow Bill on Twitter at @bdorman264.

The Long Tail Issue for Daily Deal Sites

When daily deal sites like Living Social and Groupon came to the market, many observers looked at it as another nail in the coffin for offline retailing.

By bringing huge discounts to consumers via their local business partners, Groupon and others like them would show business a new way to make more money, while bringing more customers to them.

Except it’s not quite worked out that way yet.

Short Term Gain, Long Tail Miss

The problem with daily deals sites – and, to be fair, any of the stack-em-high-sell-em-cheap options that many businesses look at – is that they’re not really set up for long-term loyalty. And that’s a key reason why so many businesses fail in general, and something that many daily deal partners are complaining about.

Sure, they’ll give customers a nice discount and a reason to come to your store or business in the first place. But where’s the incentive to come back if I’m a new customer, once I’ve taken advantage of your sale product?

Unless there’s a relationship sale versus a transactional one, if I don’t normally shop with you then I have no real reason to come back unless it’s for another daily deal. Which sees you lowering your profit margin to make the offer in the first place – not ideal.

Business and Consumer Apathy

It would appear that more folks from both sides of the fence are beginning to think like that, too. According to a new survey from Cooper Murphy in the U.K., a whopping 82% of businesses surveyed that have run campaigns on Groupon were unsatisfied with the amount of repeat business it brought.

Add these figures to a study by Rice University in May of this year, that reported just over 20% of daily deals customers become repeat customers, and you can see why the daily deals market is one that seems to divide opinion on its benefits.

It’s not just the business owners that are suffering. Because one of the major premises of daily deals is to attract the low-spend customer, restaurant and bar staff have found that customers using a daily deal offer will usually tip less than those paying full price. Ironically, the less you have to pay, the less the tip should be too, it would seem.

So what’s the answer?

Loyalty and Long Term Gain

Everyone likes a bargain. I do; you probably do; I know my wife does. It’s human nature – if we can pay less, we will (although paying more for extra quality isn’t a bad thing).

The problem with constant bargains is that customers get into the mindset that they’ll only wait for these bargains, and ignore you the rest of the time. Get ignored by customers and… well, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know the outcome of that scenario.

So while the short-term benefit is clear, businesses need to be building long-term benefits for the customers, to encourage return visits and loyalty.

Episodic discounts. Say a daily deal saves you 60% on the transaction. Instead of the one-off approach, offer three transactions saving 20% each time. On subsequent visits or purchases, have an amazing add-on deal that encourages further spend on top of the discount.

Split the location. If you’re an offline business, with multiple locations, why not split the offer between different locations on different days? A sports shop could offer different goods on different days of the week at different stores; a restaurant a different appetizer based on location; a movie theatre group, a different 2-for-1 admission to a different movie across town.

Promote loyalty. If you don’t already have one, build a loyalty card around your daily deals customers. The first time they come in, have them fill out a short form with their information, and then give a loyalty card with unique offers based around the daily deal. Use it X amount of times and they receive a free product or service (within a certain budget).

The beauty with the loyalty approach is that you can now tailor email and mobile campaigns to your customers (opt-in, obviously) that offers more call-to-action specials just for them.

Run that alongside any specials you offer existing customers, and you’re encouraging growth and repeat custom across the board.?Which seems to be all that businesses and consumers of daily deal sites want, anyway.

Worth a shot, no?

image: jakelevine

A Special Livefyre Q&A with Geoff Livingston

This coming Thursday, August 11, at 12.00 noon Eastern / 11.00am Central / 9.00am Pacific / 5.00pm GMT, there’s going to be a special interactive Question and Answer session here on the blog.

Using the interactive features of the Livefyre comment system, my special guest will be Geoff Livingston, author of the new book .?Geoff is one of the smartest writers around today, and brings both organizational and non-profit smarts to the business world.

His new book has been praised as one of the best on sale today, and helps businesses and organizations build long-term and sustainable success using social and new media channels, alongside traditional ones.

Instead of me writing “just another book review” (although the book is that good, I’ll be breaking my “no book reviews” rule here soon), Geoff has agreed to be a “live guest” on this blog on Thursday.

So how’s it going to work?

Watch the video below, and let Geoff give you a small overview of what Thursday will be about. Then, start thinking of questions you would like Geoff to answer – on social media, new media, what channels are best for your business, how to measure and track goals, what part bloggers play in the new business landscape, and more. Seriously – if you have a question about social media and its ramifications for your business, Geoff is the guy to ask, and now’s your chance.

And to make you really get your thinking caps on, Geoff will kindly be giving away two signed copies – one for the best question about challenges business face, and one for the best question on social media and business sustainability (use your own examples, if you like). I also have a little surprise for anyone buying Geoff’s book on the day – details Thursday!

Then come back here at 12.00 noon EST on Thursday, where Geoff will be here to answer your questions about the book, social media and business, online channels and more.

The difference is, this will all happen in the comments section.

Because Livefyre offers real-time live updates, it’s more like a chat system than your normal blog commenting system. The cool thing is, when a new comment has been posted and you’re on the page, a little alert box pops up to say there’s a new comment (or several, if more than one new comment has been posted as you read).

You can then click on each alert, and it takes you directly to the new comment, so you can see what questions and views are being shared as soon as they’re posted.

So all you need to do is ask your question for Geoff via the comments, and he’ll be spinning his fingers all over the place to respond. You can then reply to Geoff, or anyone else’s comments, and really make it an interactive book overview and discussion like no other.

To take part, all you need to do is the following:

Choose your profile. Because Livefyre is a profile comment system, you need to either have a Livefyre account (which you can create here by using the Get Livefyre Now option), or sign in to comment using your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google or OpenID profile. You’ll see these options under the Comment As option to the right of the comment box.

Set yourself a reminder (I’ll be tweeting and using Facebook to send out occasional reminders) to be here between 5-10 minutes before noon on Thursday August 11 to watch the video again as a reminder for the chat.

Get your questions ready, and fire away from noon onwards.

Be interactive – if you use the little “@” function when commenting, you can bring your friends from Facebook or Twitter into the conversation too. So if you think someone specific could be a great addition to the chat, invite away!

Like any live chat, there could be some technical gremlins, but hopefully not. The Livefyre guys are working behind the scenes to try and make it as smooth an experience for you as possible. And Geoff has his gremlin-slapping gloves ready, just in case.

Hopefully you’ll join us on Thursday and have a bunch of great questions for Geoff. I think this could be a lot of fun, and something to show how blog comments can really come alive.

Look forward to seeing you here – cheers!

Update Thursday, August 11: Anyone who between now and 11.59pm EST on Sunday, August 14, will receive a free copy of The Parables of Business too. Simply email me a copy of your Amazon receipt and I’ll send you the book – simple!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj2xlzSt0Rw[/youtube]

A-Listers Behaving Badly

This is a guest post by Neicole Crepeau.

Last week I inadvertently stepped into a hornet’s nest on my blog. I publicized some SEO practices that I had been unaware of, including the fact that they may be taking place on a major blogger’s site (unknown to him, I assumed).

The response from that blogger seemed to me out of all proportion. He threatened me with a lawsuit, resulting in my taking down the original post.

His response to this perceived, but unintended, criticism struck me as such a contrast to the response I received from the Triberr guys to a blog post here on Danny’s blog. In that case, I actually did criticize a feature of their product.

Yet these two young men, Dino Dogan and Dan Cristo, were totally professional and courteous. They engaged in an open debate about their product and politely disagreed with me.

It seems to me that some of the supposedly seasoned A-listers could take a lesson from the young bloggers about how to handle criticism.

When I blogged in May about why I’m hesitant about Triberr, I criticized the product. Dino and Dan came on the blog to respond. Dan actually thanked me for the post. Dino engaged me with counter-arguments, and we had a reasonable debate on Danny’s blog.

It never got personal or nasty. This despite the fact that I had made a mistake in my discussion about Triberr, saying that it tweeted links more than once per user account. Dino just politely corrected me. He didn’t threaten to sue me for misrepresenting his product.

When I published my controversial post last week, I let the two people I mentioned know that I had blogged about them. It seemed like the right thing to do. Common courtesy, so they could respond. Plus, again, I assumed that this major blogger might want to know about these shady SEO practices that were surely affecting his blog.

Unfortunately, he was on the attack from the get-go. There was no courtesy, a lot of assumptions about my motivations, and very quickly threats.

Apparently, he has handled product criticism similarly. A year ago, on a negative review of his Scribe SEO product, his very first comment invoked the word “libel” and he proceeded to threaten a lawsuit. Contrast that with Dino and Dan, who have handled even negative Triberr reviews in a polite, professional way–and updated their product in response to it!

This blogger who bullied me online actually wrote a well-regarded post urging people to be courageous bloggers. He said “You need the courage to alienate the wrong people in order to resonate with the right people. You need to stick to your convictions when people tell you you?re wrong simply because your knowledge doesn?t mesh with their opinions.”

I’m taking his advice.?That’s why I have republished my post, including the original comment thread and the tweets that followed. Because I better understand some of his concerns, and in order to protect some commenters from his potential bullying, I have removed people’s names.

This man is not alone. Other A-list personalities have become immediately defensive and intractable when their practices were questioned. I’m not the only one who feels that a lot of the biggest personalities are not open to honest questioning and criticism. They tell their clients to handle criticism gracefully, to not get defensive, to listen with an open mind and respond thoughtfully. Yet, they don’t practice the same techniques for their own brand.

These days, if you criticize an A-lister, you are apt to be labeled and dismissed as a “hater.” Disagreeing is not the same as hating. Criticism is not always mean-spirited. Democracy is built on the willingness of people to speak out, even when their opinion is unpopular, and for all of us to debate the issues openly. Shouldn’t our larger social media community be built on the same principles?

So, how about taking a step back, A-listers? I bet you’d like everyone to remember that you’re a real person. We’d like you to remember that we are, too. Don’t assume we little guys are out to get you. Don’t assume we’re criticizing you just to get attention and link-bait. We’re not all that jaded and cheap. I know you get a lot of crap at your level and it’s probably hard to assume the best of people. But please try.

Take a lesson from the young dogs. Assume the best of us, participate in discussions, politely disagree, and please don’t use your size and status to stifle any discussion.

About the Author: Neicole Crepeau is a blogger, columnist at?{grow}, and the creator of?CurateXpress, a content curation tool. She works at?Coherent Interactive?on social media, website design, mobile apps, & marketing. Connect with Neicole on Twitter at?@neicolec.

Ford, Red Tape and Social Media Roadblocks

News came out this week that Ford are recalling more than 1 million F-series trucks, due to a defect in the straps that secure the truck’s fuel tanks to the vehicle. The defect could see the straps corrode, causing the tanks to fail. So far, there have been 8 incidents, three of which included a fire, and one injury.

The news came to the fore after an investigation by the U.S. auto safety regulator, and affects older versions of the truck. In response, Ford has targeted mid-September to notify owners about what to do if their truck is affected.

What’s interesting is how a company that’s noted for its use of social media isn’t using social platforms to pro-actively share news about the recalls. Instead, as the image at the start of this post shows, they’re using it reactively when asked about the recall situation, and to correct any non-factual statements. There’s also nothing about the recalls in the Ford newsroom.

Is this a sign of choice or legal red tape?

The Pros of Being Pro-Active

Head of social media at Ford, Scott Monty, says the reasoning behind the “silence” is to avoid inciting panic and unsubstantiated rumours. This is understandable, since we all know the consequences of fake stories and rumours online, and how that can affect brands.

Yet as a way to share news to a wider audience, and quell rumours at the start, social media has continuously proven to be a very strong tool. While Scott may allude to the legal constraints he and the Ford communcations team are under, does being silent unless questioned help?

Wouldn’t it be useful to have an official update in the Ford newsroom, as opposed to having to put out fires by false rumours due to the reactive approach? And a single tweet, or a Facebook page update, that shows a link to where F-series drivers can get the latest and official updates, would help alleviate the very concerns Ford wants to meet.

Additionally, if you’re pro-active, it can also help deflect the view that you have something else to hide (this isn’t just Ford, this is any company online). In a post from 2010, Scott praises SeaWorld on how they were being pro-active at quelling fears, by releasing an official statement from the SeaWorld President and linking to it from their Twitter account.

The Cons of Being Pro-Active

As Scott mentions in his answers over at Google+, the reason nothing is mentioned on social media platforms or the Ford newsroom is down to necessity. Ford is handling this recall situation the same way they handle all recalls, and don’t feel the need to say anything “unless the recall rises to a level that is relevant to the wider public.”

Additionally, Ford needs to adhere to regulatory and legal issues and this is tying their hands (at least, that’s how it reads).

Christian Adams, in his response to the question on Google+, advises how he was involved in testing tires after the Firestone fiasco, and that having to wait until the auto safety regulator gave the green light on a problem was very constrictive.

I know the constricted feeling well. When I was contracted at an organization last year, they handled a prize promotion for Canada’s largest airline. Due to some prizes not being delivered in time for the holiday season (a bit attraction to the promotion), there were some negative comments posted on a forum. They asked how it should be handled (as they blamed the couriers and the couriers blamed them), and I advised to let them know that we were looking into it, and that we would reply directly and publicly once an answer had been found.

Due to crappy red tape, it took eight days for someone to come back and tell the person that the case was being looked at. And this was just an update to say the company was aware and would investigate. Eight days is a long time for any answer – on social media, it’s a lifetime.

So I completely get the need to do things right. But couldn’t there be at least one update from Ford, and others like them, to alleviate the questions that will be asked due to silence? Especially if it becomes a wider issue, and the questions become accusations of trying to cover a problem up.

Then again, with the news that Ford has been accused of fraudulent tactics and destroying documents in a lawsuit by a woman paralyzed when her van accelerated out of control, Ford may be feeling the heat and doesn’t want to add to it any more.

Obviously there are pros and cons to any choices made, both by people and businesses. The right one can be difficult to gauge, and perhaps it’ll be in the next couple of months if we see whether the Ford reactive one is the better over the pro-active.