Social Thought Leadership
As I come out of the Social Media Closet and talk with some of the more well-known folks who are Social and Community Strategists, I often get asked the question, “why haven’t I heard about you before” or “I never knew you were doing that”.
So… I figured it was my time to let you know what I actually do – Social & Community Strategy for major brands in the states and abroad. What does this actually mean, really? So many claim to be experts (I do not) however, in my most recent conversations with some of the top people in the business of Social, it is apparent to me that I am surrounding myself with some great people (and very happy about it).
To give you a glance into what a day looks like for me (not that you really care) I thought it would be helpful to see some of the players I speak with about the business of Social. Lets start with Corvida Raven, a young Social Media Maven, who I reached out to just to connect and see if I could write a blog post for her (5000+) readers at SheGeeks.net. Watch out world, because when Corvida gets her career in high speed, she is going to really make waves. She and I had a conversation about the overall uses of Social for Business and the struggles this fluid medium finds itself for marketers. We also discussed the ways in which we may work together (can’t wait).
The next call was with Bill Boorman, a British Recruiting Consulting Powerhouse, of 27 years who uses Social to get HR and Recruiting on rails. We met through Twitter as Bill and I have been following each other since the early numbers on Twitter. Bill is a well spoken, bright and well liked individual, with a upcoming show in London that one of our own here in Roanoke is attending.
As the morning progressed, it was calls with the Webby Award winning CEO at Maverick Digital, Todd Tilley on a Community for a client on Social Strategy. Talk about a call, this one is short but robust and packed with ideas on engagement, brand monitoring, analytics and crm. Maverick is one of those hidden jewels, mostly known to the spirits world as the thought leader in the space, and the work they create is something to behold.
Next up (and it’s only 10am) is a call with Jason Falls, ranked #8 on AdAge’s Top Blogger List, and a great guy to boot discussing some of the ways that a Community could be built out and possible strategies. If you haven’t seen Jason’s blog (stop what you are doing now and go see it) it’s a must read for opinions and straight answers on issues facing Social.
Ok… time to work on Social Strategies to pay the bills.
The early afternoon brought me to a call that I have been looking forward to all week, Simon Mainwaring, of Mainwaring Creative. I met Simon through Bo Eason, former Houston Oilers Star (and a client) and one smart guy, no scratch that-really smart guy. This guy not only looks like a movie star, he has been one. Law Degree. Former Nike Creative. Is there anything he hasn’t done-Yes, but he is working on that one as well… We discussed Simon’s accomplishments (that took some time), which made me understand that I have so much more to learn. What he can do in a short period of time for any major brand is unbelievable. He shared some of the recent work he did – which was nothing short of genius in Communities and Social Media.
More work to pay the bills-cranking away in between calls.
The previous conversation led me to a need to talk with JD Rucker, one of the top guys. We discussed many ways in which we can get a few gazillion views of a video for a client, for which this one was not an easy one to go viral. We also talked about SEO and some of the ingenious ways we tie together discussions, search and insights to come up with a very powerful way for clients to get more bang for their buck.
Back to work, oops another call (Stop the Billing clock)
Next up was an old friend and colleague, Bob Soljacich, to discuss CRM strategies and Short Code Marketing for a project we plan to work on soon. So many great ideas come from a man who has been responsible for the best Loyalty Marketing Programs in the business (Harrah’s, Saks, Valvoline). It’s never short of great dialogue either, as we both operate so clearly in a both brain role.
Finishing off the day with expectations of another call, this time from my beautiful bride of 15 years – (favorite call of the day)
So, I hope this helps those who have asked or may be wondering or even care, what it is that a guy who has been a Direct Marketer for 19 years turned Social Media guy (4 years ago) does during any given day. Chris Brogan just released a video of a day in the life that I saw on his Facebook Page, which inspired me to write this note.
It’s 11:20pm while I write this note – just another typical day here.
Tell me about some of the special people in Social you have talked to recently…
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