Janet Johnson | The Art of Marketing

Confluence In Motion: I’m a pretty big (albeit recent) Twitter advocate. I’m preparing a “Web 2.0 for Entrepreneurs” webcast for the OEN next Wednesday morning. I’m talking to a lot of people who just don’t get Twitter for business.

REAL email exchange today… “[name] said you must have a Twitter tramp stamp… should I believe him?”

Of course, I had to go to Urban Dictionary to find out what a tramp stamp was…

So here are few key reasons to use Twitter for business, and a sneak preview of my presentation…

Compelling Business Reasons to Use Twitter (these examples are just from today):

As a writer, the discipline of making sense in 140 characters is compelling.

I haven’t felt that kind of discipline since 1975 and my honors English class in college. Although my blog posts have not become particularly short as a result - sorry. You want short, follow me on Twitter.

As a reader, I learn, share, ask and reconnect:

1) I get breaking news from Twitter - the Ars Technica purchase by Wired just today - (thanks to @marshallk).

2) I can follow presentations/conferences and events when I’m not able to be there - almost as if you’re in the audience - (with thanks to @thisKat).

3) I can solicit and receive help on technical or business questions, overnight. I asked:

Got four answers when I checked this morning, this is representative, with thanks @dtboyd.

5) I have extended my network quickly and effectively - I was invited to have my blogs posted on the Content Management Connection site via @georgedearing:

6) I have been able to publicize my blog posts and reconnect with colleagues because I’m on Twitter.

Using the # convention to signify a “meme” on Twitter, I alerted those who followed the Collaboration 2.0 conference (#c20) on Twitter that I had posted about it. A former customer from my Marqui days reconnected, and I’m not following him again, after a two-year disconnect.

7) I can follow (in one easy place) and stay in touch with my friends at Attensa, OEN, current and former colleagues as they experience their lives, tackle problems and express joy.

So get your Twitter “tramp stamp” or whatever you want to call it, stick it in your email signature, put it on your blog, and participate in (and benefit from) the global cocktail party. See you out there.

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Okay - here’s how it went. I decided to check in on the Twitter chatter from the Community 2.0 conference going on in Vegas tonight.

1. Checked my Twitter feed.
2. Found a Tweet by @MarshallK about Summize - which allows you to search Twitter for memes.
3. Tested it by Tweeting about Attensa blog post - Attensa didn’t show up in Summize.
4. Was able to post my test results directly to Twitter from Summize - very cool.
5. My second Tweet about Attensa blog post did show up in Summize - okay, I’ll use it.
6. Did a search on #C20 (the Community 2.0 meme) in Summize, found some new folks to follow.
7. Saw a Tweet about @NancyWhite’s beautiful drawings, was curious….
8. Followed one of her links to Flickr to view the drawings
9. Was absolutely blown away.
10. Had to blog about it to share… Sometimes “cocktail party” Twitter is too fleeting…
11. Checked the Creative Commons license to be sure, and can publish a photo here - set for slide show mode and enjoy!

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With the chatter today around Google’s Friend Connect code being announced, there’s a wealth of new optimism for the notion of “open” social networks… where social networks become the fabric of the web, not the “walled gardens” we’re forced to manage separately with different logins, passwords, connections and feeds.

Charlene Li, Forrester Research, blogged of that notion last March, when she projected that this day would come - that technology would open up the networks to share information: “ubiquitous Internet access and the servers to enable real-time social graph access.” You can’t get more ubiquitous than Google giving away social connectedness to any web site for free.

Google’s description of Friend Connect:

Attract more visitors. Visitors bring along friends from social networks like Facebook, orkut, and others to interact on your site.

Enrich your site with social features. Choose engaging social features from a catalog of gadgets provided by Google and the OpenSocial developer community.

No programming whatsoever. Just copy and paste snippets of code into your site, and Google Friend Connect does the rest.

As they opened up the world of web analytics to “the rest of us,” so shall they open up the world of social networks to any organization interested in implementing social networking features. And these are important features like inviting friends to connect, vote and easily share the information already out on millions of web sites. For example, again from Google:

• An academic site - Discuss and review articles in context with colleagues and the broader community. Filter the discussion to colleagues only, or widen your view. Forge connections with new participants whose comments seem particularly insightful.
• A shopping site - Read expert reviews and tips right next to the camera you’re thinking of buying, and find a friend who has already purchased the same item.

(Note: they’re not shipping the code yet, but they are taking preview release participants here.)

How do we get ready for this brave new world? In many ways, both large and small. I’ll tackle the first (large, but simple) step today.

Track your digital reputation.

Old Joke: You shouldn’t Google yourself too often because you’ll go blind…

New Reality: Frankly these days, you’re blind if you don’t Google yourself often.

1) Set up persistent searches so a free RSS reader - like Google on the low end or Attensa on the high end [Attensa offers search of 18 different social networks/search engines] - will keep an eye out for online mentions on the following:

Your name/your company name/your product names… it’s quite simple to do - here’s proof:

2) Once you set up the search, check your results (you can get the feed results delivered into your Outlook inbox from Attensa) at least a couple times a week (if you’re not active in the blogosphere/social network) or more often if you are.

3) You’ll be able to train Attensa (they’re a client of mine) to know the difference between “Janet Johnson, the FL realtor,” “Janet Johnson, the former Congresswoman,” and “Janet Johnson, the marketing strategist” over time.Simply tag, check or delete the results and, depending on the relevancy, Attensa will will learn which instances to serve up first, below:

After all, millions of conversations are going on every moment of every day. More likely than not, some are about you/your company/your products. At that point, you can enter into the conversation and manage your online reputation actively.

Knowledge is power. These tools are free. From this point forward, it’s incumbent that you know…

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I met Kathleen Brush a couple of week ago, but had heard of her months before we were able to meet in person. She’s the CMO at WebTrends (a client of mine), and a marketing turnaround executive - which fascinates me as I continue to consult on marketing strategy with different kinds of organizations.

One should always look to masters of marketing for inspiration. And Kathleen is clearly a master. From her bio:

Kathleen Brush has been the senior marketing executive at several enterprise software companies including WatchGuard Technologies, Stamps.com and Websense. She has a Ph.D. in Management and International Studies, has been a professor of international marketing and is a published author on business and marketing strategy.

In our first meeting I found her to be direct, thoughtful, and a real thinker. I could see the wheels turning as we talked.

She’s sharing her knowledge in an upcoming series of three “Work Smarter” web seminars focused on helping marketing professionals improve their skills and the outcomes from their online marketing strategies.

The first free seminar, telling how to produce a 90-day, low cost, high ROI integrated online campaign, is to be held on May 15. The second seminar, on marketing skills that matter in today’s global marketplace, will be held May 29.

In addition to her web seminars, she’s written a couple of articles Want a 1200% ROI Improvement? and PSST! Your Skills Require an Upgrade, both of which appear online at Adotas. They’re delightfully ’spin free’ and content rich - exactly as I found Kathleen.

I’m signed up and ready to learn from a (fortunately local) master CMO.

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I tell people who write blogs (business blogs too) that the blog is your living room. In visiting old acquaintances in the blogosphere, I ran across Susan Getgood’s Marketing Roadmaps blog again.

Susan and I were are both speakers at early Blog Business Summit events, and I’ve been remiss about staying in touch with those from the earlier days… but I digress.

I was thrilled to find one of the best examples of blog etiquette posted in her /about section:

“Marketing Roadmaps Code of Ethics:
Marketing Roadmaps is my opinion, based on my experience. Your mileage may vary. I will be respectful of my readers’ views, and expect the same courtesy.

1. When I have an opinion, I will be completely clear about it. You won’t have to guess.
2. I won’t delete posts unless the content proves to be completely off base, in which case I will leave a placeholder that explains what happened so search engines won’t perpetuate any mistakes I have made. Typically I will annotate the original post with new material rather than delete the post.
3. I will not blog information learned offline or in private conversations unless I am absolutely certain that it is public information or I have obtained permission from the person who shared the information. When in doubt I will err on the side of caution.
4. I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic. Ditto trackbacks.
5. I will link and trackback to other blogs appropriately, and always endeavor to add to the conversation.
6. I will say thank you, replying to emails and comments promptly and pleasantly, even when I disagree with you.
7. I will be honest about my clients and relationships so my readers will understand my loyalties.”

I don’t think you can do any better than that as an example of excellent blog ethics.

Good on you, Susan.

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