* I think this is the first social media event that I’ve attended where the event hashtag (#blogpotomac) became a Twitter trending topic (at least, since trending topics were added to the Twitter.com main page at the end of April.)

Attendees displayed a perverse pride at this fact, as well as an artificial sense of competition with the hashtag #beatlesporn (a Twitter meme involving turning any Beatles song title into a porn movie title), despite the fact that it simply means that a few dozen people are posting simultaneously to capture an identical moment (usually a speaker’s quote).

It was also my first experience personally monitoring a hashtag stream that attracted the attention of spammers, and thus started to get polluted by Twitter hashtag spam.

* While I do look a little askance at the phenomena of lots of people posting the exact same tweets about the exact same thing (see this Gizmodo article for a variation involving digital cameras), all that redundancy in crowdsourced note-taking does have its uses:

- Attendees can pay attention and free-ride off of the note-taking twitterers’ work

- Note-takers have a safety net in case they miss something

- Speakers can easily see which words and concepts grab people’s attention (at least from a soundbite-y perspective)

* Recurring themes:

- Blogging: In case of emergency, break glass: In response to a question / statement that “[corporate] blogs are dying a bit every day” (in the face of Twitter and other tools), Shel Holtz noted that while every organization should use the right tool for the job, each should have at least one blog (whether it’s a customer service blog, corporate group blog, CEO blog, etc), so that there’s a viable platform in case the organization need a rapid response from an authoritative, archived location. It’s a sentiment I first heard expressed by Steve Rubel back in 2006 (as corporate blogging was reaching peak hype), and it still applies even in an era of Twitter ascendancy.

- Hashtags: Shireen Mitchell, a prolific (even chronic) hashtag user, addressed the roles of hashtags, in both making communities more coherent to insiders (by helping to self-organize conversations), as well as making them more accessible to outsiders (that is, once you can decode hashtags that are often space-constrained to the point of arcana.)

- Crisis as Danger / Opportunity: Although I agree with the sentiment, I deducted a few cliche points from Ford’s Scott Monty for using this expression of dubious provenance — I group it with “teachable moments” and “making lemons from lemonade.”

However, I did like his points, including his notes on a mobilized, engaged community as both your early-warning system and “digital armor” for attacks, as well as his reality check for companies uneasy with employees using blogs and social media: Do the lawyers vet every e-mail and phone call that their corporate communicators send out? In an age where every e-mail or phone call can be published (well, wiretap laws notwithstanding), a lot of this discomfort is simply unfamiliarity with the context of the tools.

I add in this decidedly non-Far Eastern wisdom: “You gotta be in it to win it.” (The old motto of the New York Lotto.)

- Personal Branding: Yet again, personal branding was kind of trainwreck-y, mostly because you can never get people to agree on just what it is they’re talking about. Amber Naslund took issue with the idea of personal branding as a shortcut to building a real reputation; Aaron Brazell framed it in the context of “confidence vs. cockiness.”

In the context of personal brands coexisting with corporate brands, I do think you can have it both ways — people can use the company’s authority to boost their visibility, while companies can increase their humanity. As long as each has a succession plan (Scott Monty’s term), everyone benefits.

- Customer Service: Shashi mentioned the notion of customer service being the purest form of marketing, which tied in with other speakers’ notions of getting more employee voices to communicate. Again, to tie it all off, getting more employees to participate in social media increases positive contacts with customers, reduces dependence on any one social media communicator, and helps break down silos. So do it.

Other than that, Geoff dropped a small bombshell in announcing that the third BlogPotomac (scheduled for October) would mark his final involvement (not wanting to be “the guy who’s a community leader, but whose kids are stealing”)

In summary, it was another good event. To some degree, as with any blogging / social media confab, there’s a degree of preaching to the converted (especially as attendees are more familiar with the tools and concepts), though that’s where the community-building aspect comes into play.

QOTD-from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

Bk series intro, chapter overview
I’m still immersed in the useful insights of authors Shel Holtz and John Havens; and I can’t get enough of their book. Last week launched this review series covering the third chapter about characteristics of transparent organizations. And in light of economic times, how transparent sales strategy benefits your business seemed timely to talk about now.

QOTD-from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

Communications that interrupt your customers … are out!

Communications based in relationship-oriented marketing … are in!

So this may sound painfully obvious but I ask for your patience in saying this: being honest is the cornerstone of relationships and certainly those in a sales dynamic; yes – I appreciate those of you who may be rolling their eyes at this seemingly trite remark. But frankly how present is honesty – and the correlating transparency – in traditional sales development? Potential customers are often viewed as numbers to quench a thirsty sales quota. And after working in sales years ago, I remember some of colleagues’ approaches. What I recall most is their competition for numbers only vs a sense of service and long-term relationship building. In this chapter, Holtz and Havens specify how transparent relations emerge trust between you and your customer to ideally form a longer term opportunity to reach goals – for sales pro and customer alike.

Combining sense of service and influence: honesty is the link
The desire to actually sell someone your product is not the problem; but thrusting one-way pitches with a here-read-this-brochure insistency is. This chapter offers it all — sharing (8) tactics of transparent, relational tips to the Social Customer Manifesto, the authors discuss these concepts in a concrete, results-driven style. From making small talk more substantive with potential customers — to sharing social media ideas for two-way talks — the examples & case studies provide great context to transparent communications that can lead to trust and thus to customers more likely to see your sales professionalism as a resource.

My favorite part
…about this section is how influencing one’s customer in the spirit of serving them was addressed. It was framed as another trust building investment to seek a green light on just how much impact the sales professional can have. A featured expert describes what he asks his customers up front as they enter the sales cycle, quoting:

How heavily do you want me to influence you here?

In the context of educating the customer, I found this directness refreshing (and strategically useful). The sales executive asked permission from the customer on what degree of involvement they can engage. And it’s understood the sales exec will honor the customer’s reply, even if it delays the sales decision.

Direct. Transparent. Permission-centric. Trust-based. Service-driven…all make for fertile ground in having fruitful relationships with new and current clients.

In weeks ahead: reviewing selected chapters from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 16: Yeah, But…: overcoming objections;
• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan
• And did you catch them? Check out thoughts via audio cast & more for the first review in this series, starting with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes? Characteristics of Transparent Organizations
• …and a take down of Chapter 4: Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.

What is the worst-case scenario with transparency? You’re being honest and are saying things that are real—the right outcome is eventually going to come out of that.
-Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent

Tactical Transparency comes to a close
Shel Holtz and John Havens include plenty in their book. They combine a concrete definition for transparency with operational concerns, crisis management, and longterm sales strategies to create an inclusive guide on building – and preserving – company brands.

I appreciated its systemic focus on leadership understanding and implementing decisions to attain a transparent culture. And there’s so much more beyond the five chapters reviewed. Ah but there are more posts, conversations, and even books to unearth for small business! So this book review series comes to a close with a few more jewels of insight from Chapter 17.

Your Road Map to Transparency
Take action!…with an action plan that’s well featured in this chapter. From checklists to questionnaires, this section breaks down a road map to transparency in four parts: assess, adjust the culture, establish your voice, and create the action plan.

A micro take down
1. Assess: what tools are in place that can capture employee ideas? The goal here is to create a structure for substantive dialogue within an organization. And this question is one of many to gauge how near or far your company is to providing this type of environment.

2. Adjust The Culture: it takes time. It may be obvious but this premise proved a good reminder for me when making these transparent changes; bottom line it just takes time for the impact of transparent operations to trickle down throughout the company even for small businesses.

Again Dave Balter at BzzAgent makes a point:

“I think the thing people really need to know about this is that transparency is sort of a long-term cause. It is not “flip the switch tomorrow morning and everybody gets what the reality needs to be.”

3. Establish Your Voice: Holtz and Havens cite useful and varied views on traditionally objective journalism and subjectivity. Whatever your company adopts as its communications ‘voice’, it needs to be consistent.

4. Create An Action Plan – ego surfing and more: Monitoring one’s reputation can be a great opportunity to listen to those impacted or interested in your business. Whether it’s negative or positive feedback discovered in this process, it gives your business a chance to react with speed and ownership. More solutions abound in this section on communicating financial matters, crises, accessibility of leadership to strategic publics (and on…).

So hey, one question:
Of what’s been covered in these five chapters (review linked below), what appeals to you and your business about this book?

Previously from Tactical Transparency’s book review series

• -Ch. 3: Thoughts via audio cast & more launches the first review with Do You Have What It Takes?Characteristics of Transparent Organizations;
• -Ch. 4: Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment.
• -Ch. 10: …on the benefits of issues blogs;
• -Ch. 16: There’s a fine discussion here too on overcoming objections from different entities and partners within your business on being transparent.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.

Transcending the ‘absolutely not!’ syndrome when starting new transparent operations and social media
Tactical Transparency’s Ch. 16: Yeah, but…Overcoming Objections

Have your legal advisors ever said:
Launch a blog?!…and start conversations we can’t control?! NO WAY?!

Or has your product development team ever screamed:
What if employees inadvertently reveal too much and give our competition an edge? NO WAY?!

Well authors Shel Holtz and John Havens address these concerns companies face when enacting more transparent business. That’s this chapter’s focus for our book review series on Tactical Transparency.

Get out of my office.

-AKG President & Chairman of the Board Bob Buckman to his then legal team at Buckman Laboratories, who asked him to halt a social media practice (per Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand)

Confronting the big four objections against transparency i.e. legal/regulatory, competition, technical, & investment
Experts and business leaders cited in this chapter understand if not appreciate dissent for using social media. That quote per Bob Buckman above was stated only after he reviewed with his legal team what weighed more: benefits of keeping an internal CompuServe forum active or shutting it down.

It’s all in the risk analysis.

I liked the direct, well rounded context of this chapter for that reason. The authors nor those interviewed wish to dismiss advisory concerns for transparency (and the social media tools to implement them) without hearty risk analysis first. This section offers useful reasoning for business leaders to use when incurring those objections.

For starters…:

1) When legal and regulatory get concerned:
Yep these professionals intend to keep us free and clear of legal violations. We need them (side thanks to NetSol’s legal team)! What I really valued on this particular topic is learning more about Charlene Li’s ROI formula when considering an employee blog practice (she’s from Forrester Research and co-author of Groundswell). Holtz and Havens cite other ideas of how business leaders and even employees can clear legal caution.

2) If your team fears the competition getting ahead:
Included is a range of counter arguments for this particular objection; but what proved most persuasive to me was learning this from a CEO:

70% of their product ideas came from outside the company anyway.

So why stifle social media efforts that could further enable this type of idea exchange and sourcing?

3) If your tech team gets nervous about risk of infection from Web 2.0:
Software applications and urban tech myths are assessed which could alleviate IT fears. NOTE: My apologies to be cryptic here; I’m trying to avoid giving away too many specifics!

4) If your investment funds for social media tools look slim:
Certain open-source blogging platforms and some more expensive software are offered to get your team thinking on what could be the most benefit in the face of risk.

Quick question
It’s a good, quick read that combines strong endorsement for transparent business decisions with a logical respect for and response to risk. What type of risk is highest on your list when it comes to implementing more transparent operations? What benefits in your view out weigh those risks? Your experience and feedback are welcome in the comments (always!).

Next week: last chapter review installment from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan

And for the other (4) archived chapter reviews:

• -Thoughts via audio cast & more launches the first review with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes?Characteristics of Transparent Organizations;
• -…and a take down of Chapter 4: Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment.
• -With last week’s review of Chapter 10 on the benefits of issues blogs;

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.

Here is a summary of the episode

“Shashi Bellamkonda joined Network Solutions—which once held the monopoly on dot-com domain registrations—as a customer service representative. His use of social media in all of his jobs led to his appointment as the coordinator of social media efforts for the company. In this interview, Shashi shares with Shel Holtz how he coordinates with other departments, how social media has been used to improve the company’s reputation, the metrics applied to his efforts, and a variety of other topics related to organizational adoption of social media. ”

Please go here to listen http://cli.gs/TVNeaA

Take issue!
Ch. 10: how issues blogs show people you’re listening

Authors Shel Holtz and John Havens continue to hit it out of the park with their latest book Tactical Transparency. This month I’ve reviewed select chapters of the book starting with Chapter 3 characteristics of transparent organizations and Chapter 4 on a more transparent approach to selling & ROI. Quick note: the book cites blogger experiences for larger companies; but small business value was definitely present with more highlighted below.

Blogs that focus on a specific business issue provide distinct advantages for any organization.

-from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

Take aways for small business
So why blog about championed social issues (or even concerns valuable to your business yet less focused on by greater societal opinion)?

It builds trust.

It builds trust with your customers and stakeholder community – with at the forefront – your willingness to be honest about your position and status within the conversation i.e. be truthful on that recent review on your restaurant even if it didn’t score as high as hoped.

More take aways from the book

1) Be confident in your chosen issue to blog about.
Negative or contentious comments may come up on your issues blog especially if it’s an environmental concern like protecting the Amazon. What cause related to your business or industry standard proves valuable enough to you to voice opinion? and to get opinion back from others?

2) Realize that issues blogging creates a chance to show what drives your business philosophy.
Sure, a critical goal is to be profitable(!) but this type of blogging mindset creates opportunity to relate on your business values. Whether it be going green, leading industry policy, or even forming your company’s advisory board, revealing your stance can engender trust with customers and your industry.

3) Frame your issues so the community – or press – comes to you.
Small businesses have great opportunity to be socially responsible. Your blog can be an apt conversation hub for those issues your community, stakeholders, and your core business most value…with welcome results in customer loyalty and perceived expertise.

We measure ROI in trust.

-Bob Langert, VP of corporate social responsibility, McDonald’s

And Langert’s quote from the book goes on: We want people to say the blog [Open for Discussion] is transparent and that it’s open and that it’s real dialogue.

Do you agree with this chapter’s premise on issues blogging (or again, even issues centric to your development … like forming an advisory board from what I linked above?)?

What other benefits or consequences do you see from extending your business in this way?

In weeks ahead: reviewing selected chapters from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 16: Yeah, But…: overcoming objections;
• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan
• -And did you catch it? Check out thoughts via audio cast & more for the first review in this series, starting with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes?Characteristics of Transparent Organizations;
• …and a take down of Chapter 4: Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.

A review continued for Tactical Transparency,Ch. 4, From prospects to people:

Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment

Everybody pitches. -from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

I’m still immersed in the useful insights of authors Shel Holtz and John Havens; and I can’t get enough of their book. Last week launched this review series covering the third chapter about characteristics of transparent organizations. And in light of economic times, how transparent sales strategy benefits your business seemed timely to talk about now.

Communications that interrupt your customers … are out!

Communications based in relationship-oriented marketing … are in!

So this may sound painfully obvious but I ask for your patience in saying this: being honest is the cornerstone of relationships and certainly those in a sales dynamic; yes – I appreciate those of you who may be rolling their eyes at this seemingly trite remark. But frankly how present is honesty – and the correlating transparency – in traditional sales development? Potential customers are often viewed as numbers to quench a thirsty sales quota. And after working in sales years ago, I remember some of colleagues’ approaches. What I recall most is their competition for numbers only vs a sense of service and long-term relationship building. In this chapter, Holtz and Havens specify how transparent relations emerge trust between you and your customer to ideally form a longer term opportunity to reach goals – for sales pro and customer alike.

Combining sense of service and influence: honesty is the link
The desire to actually sell someone your product is not the problem; but thrusting one-way pitches with a here-read-this-brochure insistency is. This chapter offers it all — sharing (8) tactics of transparent, relational tips to the Social Customer Manifesto, the authors discuss these concepts in a concrete, results-driven style. From making small talk more substantive with potential customers — to sharing social media ideas for two-way talks — the examples & case studies provide great context to transparent communications that can lead to trust and thus to customers more likely to see your sales professionalism as a resource.

My favorite part
…about this section is how influencing one’s customer in the spirit of serving them was addressed. It was framed as another trust building investment to seek a green light on just how much impact the sales professional can have. A featured expert describes what he asks his customers up front as they enter the sales cycle, quoting:

How heavily do you want me to influence you here?

In the context of educating the customer, I found this directness refreshing (and strategically useful). The sales executive asked permission from the customer on what degree of involvement they can engage. And it’s understood the sales exec will honor the customer’s reply, even if it delays the sales decision.

Direct. Transparent. Permission-centric. Trust-based. Service-driven…all make for fertile ground in having fruitful relationships with new and current clients.

In weeks ahead: reviewing selected chapters from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 10: En-Gauge the Conversation: how issue blogs show people you’re listening;
• -Ch. 16: Yeah, But…: overcoming objections;
• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan
• And did you catch it? Check out thoughts via audio cast & more for the first review in this series, starting with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes? Characteristics of Transparent Organizations.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.

Getting transparent: from digital tokenism to clear next steps
I believe in transparent operations and the often systemic openness they can have on business. And achieving that transparency can certainly involve trial and error. So this next thought isn’t meant to be unforgiving: it’s disheartening though when some organizations attempt transparency, either in their group culture or social media campaigns, via a “look like we tried” approach. And in terms of transparent social media specifically, this type of surface measure can further distance the goal of authentically engaging and communicating with customers, constituents, etc. Digital tokenism comes to mind.

But in this context, it doesn’t seem fair to chalk it up to unprofessionalism. Rather I would like to think the architects of “look like we tried” social media and transparency in general just lack awareness for what transparent operations & communications are (let alone knowing the steps to get there). And with regard to a company’s growth -and central reputation- it seems prudent to have a working definition of what we’re dealing with.

[Transparency impacting a company's reputation] … is a concept that encounters a lot of resistance, mostly because of a lack of clarity about what this kind of transparency means.

from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand.

Getting tactical: a new book review series
A new outlook has come along that has held up the proverbial hand and said: “Wait! Transparency is more than obscure philosophy!” And here’s where the book Tactical Transparency enters in. This new release by Shel Holtz and John Havens discusses what transparent business can do longterm – and steps to get there. It’s clear. It defines terms and context in a lean way. And it relates social media to corporate culture and business leadership with precision this discussion often lacks. During the coming weeks, I’ll dive into the book, reviewing selected chapters that stood out for small business use (yet to be clear – the whole book is worth the read!).

Reviewing Ch. 3: Do You Have What It Takes?
Ok so that’s a loaded question! I liked this segment because it starts to really build off of its working definition of business transparency from the initial chapters. And at this point, the authors outline characteristics of transparent organizations. They cite CEO interviews plus social media campaigns – a favorite one from Dove – exemplifying (or not) these transparent qualities.

And the kicker: if you’re not there yet …
Six characteristics of transparent companies were discussed ranging from having open book mind-sets to taking risks to making leaders & employees accessible. Each concluded with an ‘If you’re not there yet’ summary that offers specific steps to launch your organization’s plan toward said characteristic.

Example: Holtz and Havens assert the days of ‘no comment’ have ended and thus, truly transparent businesses make their leaders and employees available to communicate. They offer varied options for how your leadership and teams can be more openly responsive — with even legal quiet periods for mergers kept in consideration. Rounding out the section are steps available if your company needs a more involved solution to attain transparency. For instance, the authors suggest different parts of your enterprise to assess and measure ‘If you’re not there yet.’

90 seconds audio: how transparency helped return a business to the driver’s seat
Want some drive-by insight to Ch. 3? Check out this quick excerpt and quote from the book.

In weeks ahead: reviewing selected chapters from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 10: En-Gauge the Conversation: how issue blogs show people you’re listening;
• -Ch. 16: Yeah, But…: overcoming objections;
• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan
• And did you catch it? Check out thoughts via audio cast & more for the first review in this series, starting with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes? Characteristics of Transparent Organizations.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.