Who’d have thunk it?

September 6, 2008

Many humble thanks to Caroline Melberg’s kind words as she nominated me for The Brillante Weblog Award.  award.

With proud heart and in the spirit of tradition I’d like to honor the following bloggers with the Brillante Weblog Award:

David Reich/My 2 cents:  David’s blog posts are point on. What I value about David’s perspective is that he came to social media kicking and screaming a bit.  So he looks at all the hub bub (traditional and social media) with the slightly jaded eye of a guy who has been around the block.  He’s thoughtful before he jumps on anyone’s bandwagon and we get to go along for the cerebral ride as he weighs marketing, PR and media today.

Anna Farmery/Engaging Brand:  Anna’s blog is all about employer branding and how that can change the course of a company.  What Anna’s most famous for is her superb podcasts.  They’re among the best out there.  She draws remarkable guests and her thorough prep means she always gets the goods.  You’ll listen to most of them more than once! And…she’s British so she has a great accent.  She even writes with an accent!  Love that!

Steve Harper/The Ripple Effect:  Steve’s blog and mantra is all about "Maximizing the Power of Relationships for  Your Life and Business" and with every post, he gets us thinking about how we might add even more value and build and support the relationships that mean the most to us.  He reminds us of the business applications of relationship building without ever forgetting there’s a human being at the other end.

If you want to think big….check out these excellent blogs!  They’ll make you tres brillante!

Best Practices in Social Media: Lift up others

September 1, 2008

Mitch Joel over at Six Pixels of Separation is asking for best practices for social media marketing. I got tagged by Liz and I’m in — how about you?

You don’t have to have a blog to play.  You can always answer here in the comments section. If you’re doing interesting social media stuff, specifically that you have some best practices for social media marketing, here’s how to join in:

1. Blog it or add it to the comments here.
2. Link to Mitch’s blog
3. Tag it “social media marketing best practices project”
4. And then tag someone else with the meme.

Drew’s social media best practice?  Lift up others!

I’m a very firm believer and to the best of my ability, practitioner of this philosophy.

I think we should share our time, resources, smarts, links — lifting others up and enjoying their success.  Just like in any offline neighborhood — there’s always a neighbor who’s ready to offer a helping hand.

I think we want to be that neighbor.

So reach out to new bloggers.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re the new blogger.  Why not give away some free books to promote a new author?  Or participate in Blogtipping to spotlight new bloggers?  Or how about inviting 200+ authors to contribute to a book you’re co-producing?

Create opportunities for others, applaud for their successes and genuinely serve both your readers and the community of bloggers and I promise, you’ll enjoy a long and rewarding social media existence.

Okay, tagging time.  Mike Sansone, Roberta Rosenberg, John Rosen, Gavin Heaton and David Reich.  Why did I pick them?  They are all expert practitioners of the give generously philosophy.

Drew’s comment:  I hope you’ll notice that this “social media” best practice is also an offline marketing best practice.  Sharing what you have and what you know….letting others “sample” you is a brilliant and too seldom used tactic.

I’ll bet if you go back and read the other best practices, (Chris Brogan, Mitch Joel, Liz Strauss) you’ll discover that most of them work in any medium.  Social Media is just another tool for communicating.  But overall, the same rules apply.

BlogDay 2008 — who gets your nod?

August 31, 2008

August 31st, 2008 is the 4th annual BlogDay.  The goal — to get bloggers all over the world to, as the official site says, “on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.”

While it’s tough to spotlight just five, here’s my tip of the hat to 5 blogs that deserve more attention and accolades than they currently receive.  (I would have cheated and included a sixth blog, Cory Garrison’s Merge Today but Sansone beat me to it!) Let’s see if we can do something about that, eh?

The Rally Flag by Cale Johnson.  I love it when the marketing professionals of tomorrow get it.  If you love Ryan Karpeles or Andy Drish’s passion and smarts, you’ll love Cale’s too!  He may be younger than many of us…but he’s got a lot to teach us.  So go study at the school of Cale!

Laura4Literacy by Laura Hecht.  I’m a sucker for passion and for people fighting to make children’s lives better.  So Laura’s unquenchable drive to help Africa’s children lift themselves out of poverty by giving them the gift of literacy has completely won me over.  She’ll get you in on the vision too.

Zebulun by Mark True.  Mark gets branding and tells a mean story.  You can count on him not to pull any punches or hide behind any weasel words.  His passion around branding and helping organizations not only understand their brand but know what to do with it is well worth a regular read.

An Iowa Mom by Wendy P (not sure if she shares her last name) makes me laugh out loud.  She gives her readers little peeks into the daily interactions with her brood.  As a dad of a 15 year old, the quips of her little ones bring back a flood of wonderful memories.

InsightCubed by Michael Libbie.  If I owned an ag company and needed an agency — this is who I’d call.  Not only do they really know their audience, but they’re smart and jam-packed with integrity.  Even if you’ve never seen a pig up close (join Drew in that line) other than at a fair — you’ll find plenty to read and enjoy at this blog.

I didn’t start out to do this on purpose…but all five of these bloggers are Iowans.  I’m fortunate to know them all personally and it’s with immense respect that I introduce you to them as well.

You’ll enjoy each and every one of them!

An aside:  Does anyone else look at that badge and wonder what the heck 310g is?  A good reminder to think twice about logo designs and look at them with fresh eyes!

Welcome back Joanna!

August 25, 2008

Do you consider yourself a writer?  Either because it’s a part of your very being or maybe just because your job demands it of you?

In either case (or anywhere in between) if you haven’t discovered Joanna Young‘s blog, Confident Writing, you should.  Joanna writes about the power of the written word and how to best capture and use that power to serve your purposes.

Her posts are usually both practical and thought-provoking, which for a writer is the perfect one-two punch.

One of Joanna’s gifts is her ability to teach through word pictures.  One of my favorite of her posts talks about how we need to consider the container we’re using to hold our words. I promise, it’s an analogy that will stick with you for awhile.

Joanna’s been on a "technologically induced" break for the past week or so.  While silence can often be a very potent communications tool — we’re all glad she’s back and the silence is broken.

Steve Farber’s new book comes packed with a challenge

August 9, 2008

When people ask me about the benefits of blogging, I can recite quite a list.  But one of the top items on that list is the amazing people I can now call my friends, thanks to meeting them via the blogosphere.

I loved Steve Farber’s books long before we became friends.  At MMG, we give his books as gifts.  We practice his LEAP philosophy at the office and I strive every day to be an extreme leader. 

So, I’m elated that book #3, Greater Than Yourself, has a launch date.  (March 3, 2009 but you can already pre-order a copy.)  I remember talking to Steve about this book at SOBCon ’07 and knowing that it was going to take his writing to a completely different level.  And by default, give us the opportunity to take ourselves to a completely different level along with him.  (check out this sneak peek of the book)

Here’s a little video clip of Steve talking about the core premise of his book and even more important — his challenge to us.

Steve’s other books (which I HIGHLY recommend)

Radical Leap
Radical Edge

I’m curious — have you read Steve’s books?  Did they have impact?  Make you see something in a new way?  Change a behavior?

Will you have a little branding with us tomorrow?

August 5, 2008

Join the gang at MMG for the Branding Breakfast or Lunch!

Here’s the drill.  You come.  We talk branding.  You leave with some new ideas to try back at the ranch.

Remember…if you come for breakfast, we feed you.  If you opt for lunch, it’s BYOL.

What: Branding Breakfast (delicious, hot breakfast provided)
When: 7:30 — 8:30 a.m., first Wednesday of February, May, August and November.   That’s tomorrow…August 6th!
Where: Workforce Center. 430 East Grand Ave, Des Moines (map)

Or…

What: Branding Lunch (BYOL)
When: noon — 1:00 p.m., first Wednesday of February, May, August and November.  Again…that’s tomorrow…August 6th!
Where: Simpson College WDM Campus. 3737 Westown Parkway (classroom #9) (map)

RSVP: Yes, I want to talk about branding!

We’d love to have you join us!  (If you live outside of Iowa…it’s probably a bit of a trek.  But you could be with us in spirit!)

How do you start a conversation?

July 25, 2008

Quite a while ago, I celebrated my 1,000th comment.  It was your good fortune that the 1,000th commenter was David Reich.  I invited him, to celebrate the milestone, to write a guest post.

Fast forward to earlier this month and ironically, I was David’s 1000th commenter.  So he kindly returned the favor and extended an invitation to me.

There are lots of blogs out there.  Many of them contain brilliant content.  But very little conversation.  They are a digital lecture.   They don’t invite discussion or opposition.  They just talk. 

I suspect the blogs that actually encourage and nurture conversation are the ones that will be around long after the lecturers have faded away.  So we’ll get to enjoy David’s wisdom and insights for a long time to come.  Why?

David is a gifted conversationalist.  He makes us feel welcome and asks questions that make us think.  And we caught up in the conversation and jump in.  As my post is in celebration of David’s 1,000th comment, it seemed fitting to talk about the art of conversation.

Come on over to David’s blog and let’s talk about how you initiate a conversation with your customers.  Because most businesses are getting it all wrong.

Want to point a HUGE spotlight at your blog?

July 25, 2008

How would you like to have your blog on center stage?  And it’s a very big stage!

You have your shot this weekend.  Liz Strauss of Successful Blog is hosting a virtual auto show for blogs.  Liz has called all of us to detail and polish up our blogs and join in the show.

Here’s all you have to do:

Write up the following information:

• Blog Title:
• Blog URL link:
• Blog Tagline:
• A sentence or two about what makes your blog worth reading
• Some blogging advice or a short bloggy quote that shows your personality

E-mail all of this to Liz with BLOG-TO-SHOW in the subject line.  You have to get this in before Saturday the 26th so hurry!  This is free publicity on a very popular and well traveled blog.  What are you waiting for?

SWAT Summit offers YOU a discount!

July 2, 2008

Get the inside scoop on advertising and marketing on social networks on July 17th in lovely San Francisco.

Social networks are transforming the way brands and consumers interact. Leading brands and agencies are embracing their potential — are you?

SWAT Summit looks at how agencies and brands can harness the power of social networks. This conference is for anyone who wants to be a leader in the next generation of marketing and advertising — and for the publishers, developers, and ad networks who will work with them hand in hand.

SWAT Summit is an exclusive gathering place for 200 key influencers and decision makers such as Brand Managers, Media Planners, Media Buyers, Marketing Directors, and individuals at the Director, VP, and C-Level.

Limited spots are also available for: Press, VCs, Analysts, and Academics.

Check out their speakers, or go ahead and register.  Marketing Minute readers are being offered a $100 discount on the event.  Use discount code:  drewmm

Want to know someone? Look at who’s around them.

May 4, 2008

More than a month ago, Robyn McMaster tagged me, asking me to share a quote that I found to be inspirational and dedicate it to at least three other bloggers who, for me, embody the quote.  (Robyn was tagged by Joanna Young)

Robyn’s quote, which she dedicated to me, Liz Strauss, Chris Brown, Gavin Heaton and Ellen Weber was:

The brain is designed to grab what input it can and then
boil it up into a froth of understanding. 

John McCrone

First…lofty praise that I’ll do my best to live up to and second, that’s an impressive group to be sharing an attribution with.  Thank you.

I have given this quite a bit of thought. I’ve actually had my quote identified for several weeks but just wanted to let it simmer for a bit.  I used the quote on the program for Blogger Social’s Saturday night dinner program, knowing I’d write more about it here.

I think one of life’s most valuable skills is to see people clearly.  To know not only who they appear to be, but who they truly are and who they aspire to become.

My secret weapon for figuring that out is to observe who they surround themselves with.  I don’t believe there is anything more telling.  We choose to spend time with people that we connect with, that have similar hearts and values.  We surround ourselves with people who not only support us but inspire us to be even better than we are today.

So with that, I dedicate this quote to some of my amazing friends, who I am proud to be measured and judged by. 

Tell me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.

Assyrian Proverb

My thanks to you: Gavin Heaton, CK, Lori Magno, and Luc Debaisieux.  To be judged by your presence in my life is a good fortune I’m not sure I deserve but I will gladly accept.