February 2012
2 posts
7 tags
Redesigned Flickr will not take value away from...
Seriously, people. As much as we like to talk about tools, do we stop and think about the purpose behind them? Just because Flickr is getting redesigned and may look more like Pinterest does not mean they are competition. To be fair to Mashable author Zoe Fox, she does not suggest this will happen in her article. But I have seen plenty of articles or posts about Pinterest killing Flickr,...
My Blog Post from Training that Sticks on Creating... →
Some times customers ask us whether Signature Worldwide company get-togethers can really be as much fun as our training sessions. We will leave it to you to decide whether delight was created during this extra special closing ceremony, featuring the Signature Worldwide Air Symphony’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Signature Worldwide is known for training classes and...
September 2011
1 post
3 tags
Hiring Social Media Workers Not Wannabes
It always amazes me how people can get jobs by purporting themselves to know things, rather than having actual abilities. I know I have made hiring mistakes with people like this…have you? When hiring, it is imperative that you make sure someone knows how to DO the work. What if it was their manager or editor or coworker? What if their portfolio has been heavily edited by someone else or...
June 2011
3 posts
10 tags
Ohio Social Media Policy & Guidelines 2010 →
Ohio’s social media policy was created in 2010 to provide guidelines to State of Ohio employees on the use of social media and the integration of gov 2.0 (or #gov20) in state government.
This was a collaboration with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland’s office, the Ohio Department of Commerce (Cara [Keithley] Posey), Ohio Department of Administrative Services (Ron Sylvester), and the Ohio...
6 tags
I Count on You to Reward Good Service
My customer loyalty means something to you. If it doesn’t, it should. After all, Forrester Research says loyal customers are more reluctant to switch companies, willing to buy more products, and are more likely to recommend your company.
I want you to consider my loyalty a sign. Obviously you are doing something right, whether it’s as simple as you have a great location to the fact...
April 2011
1 post
7 tags
Google Alerts for Client Research & Social Media
Google Alerts is one of the best free listening tools on the web. Many business professionals still do not understand the value that these alerts can bring them when they do client research and build content for their own social media voices. (This is important for everyone…not just for those professionals “in charge” of social media.)
You define what’s interesting and...
March 2011
2 posts
1 tag
4 tags
Moving On Up →
I have left the world of government for a new challenge. I am now the Director of Marketing for Signature Worldwide, a training and business solutions company. Check us out on Facebook. I will still be talking about government and higher education, but also about customer service, sales, training, social media, and more. Just think of it as extending my horizon.
December 2010
2 posts
5 tags
Mayor Shows Government Leaders How to Use Social... →
Government leaders have a thing or two to learn about using social media in a crisis from Mayor Cory Booker of Newark New Jersey. First lesson: use social media to listen to and help your citizens. Social media is not just another push communications channel for your campaign messages. Second lesson: people will remember you for how you respond in a crisis. Personal responses garner so much...
6 tags
Five Reasons Public Sector Employees Are Great...
I heard recently about a local private sector leader who is very skeptical of hiring public sector folks. Many public sector employees are looking for work right now nationwide due to the recent election and various changes of administration. This prejudice seems so unfounded to me, as I know many public sector employees who are exactly the kind of people I’d want to hire. I hope that...
November 2010
2 posts
4 tags
Transitioning to Gov 2.0: Post-Election
While candidates may understand the purpose of using social media for campaigning, if they haven’t been in office the past two years, they may not know a thing about Gov 2.0. I blogged the other day about how candidates used social media in the mid-term elections, but actually transitioning that use into administrative use is a whole other thing.
For those politicians that aren’t...
5 tags
Social Media Echo Chamber of Politics
The mid-term elections have been exhausting for most of us for a variety of reasons. Whether you’re sick of emails or robo calls, or your job was on the line, chances are you are ready to take a well deserved breather. I’m not going to talk about any specifics today…I’ll leave that to the pundits who want to dissect what went wrong or right for each candidate. What I...
September 2010
1 post
2 tags
“There’s not a lot of news when [a] company takes responsibility and moves on....”
– James Donnelly, senior vice president for crisis management at the public relations colossus Ketchum quoted in a recent N.Y. Times article on crisis communication In Case of Emergency: What Not to Do
August 2010
3 posts
2 tags
Social Media is Getting Schooled →
Interesting post from Ogilvy PR regarding a recent finding from the Society for New Communications Research: higher education is outpacing the Fortune 500 in social media adoption by more than 2 to 1.
4 tags
Four Steps for Personal Crisis Management
So, the shoe has dropped. You messed up, you’ve been thrown under the bus, and you’re filled with that feeling of dread. What do you do now? The next decisions you make are crucial to managing your personal crisis.
Step One: Think Before You Speak
Take the time to breathe. Listen to what the other party has to say. If your boss or someone else is mad at you about this crisis issue, try very...
5 tags
Marketing Like a Superbrand Doesn’t Make Sense in...
Let’s be clear up front, you’re brand is probably not Coca Cola or Apple. Unless of course you are Coca Cola and Apple, then welcome. But, more than likely, the group of people that relate to your organization as a brand is different than your potential customer group. This is especially true in government and higher education.
While you might have your NASA or your Harvard, where people would...
June 2010
2 posts
6 tags
To Friend or Be Friended on Social Media
Some questions or revelations about social media come out of how you personally relate to businesses and companies. As I was driving in a small Columbus, Ohio suburb passed several resale shops, I thought to myself about a local shop that I have a relationship with. I have bought items there and even sold items there. Several times, the owner has encouraged me to send them pictures of the...
5 tags
Specialists and Strategists: Finding Balance
Providing value to your organization or team means different things at different times. In my opinion, an employee is most valuable being a specialist and “doing” things as well as being a strategist and thinking about doing things differently or better. While I value the specialization of having someone who just sees the nuts and bolts or someone who just sees big picture, these...
May 2010
3 posts
5 tags
What Happened to the Leaders of the Email...
Once upon a time in business, government, higher ed, non-profits…somebody somewhere must have been responsible for encouraging organizations to adopt email. This post dates me, but I imagine a time in the 1980’s when businesses still relied on carbon copies, phone calls, and letters. And maybe people had personal word processors…but hardly anyone had networked, online computer...
3 tags
Disaster Response through Social Media
I am sitting in a session at #pubcampohio about disaster response and social media with Andy Carvin from NPR. He is discussing using social media and blogs to mobilize people around a crisis situation. The overall idea and challenge is how can we use these tools and platforms to make a profound impact during a crisis. Check out some great slide presentations from crisis commons, which Andy is...
2 tags
“The C-Suite talks strategy, not tactics. You’ll need their support for...”
– David Alston
April 2010
12 posts
4 tags
Higher Education's Social Media Challenge
Some higher ed institutions obviously got the memo on social media. For instance, my alma mater Carnegie Mellon University is very active in social media and even has two students who will be doing fellowships with Facebook. Another Twitter friend, Shannon Paul, brought up her alma mater Madonna University’s engagement in social media just last week. But there are other institutions (and...
“It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much...”
– Norman Vincent Peale
4 tags
Business Lessons from Dora the Explorer
Business lessons come in many ways and sick days can somtimes provide necessary reflection time. In my case, I spent yesterday home sick with my 2 1/2 year old. This involved lots of educational preschool television, including Dora the Explorer. Here’s several Dora inspired business lessons:
Carry a map. Strategic planning is important…do you have a plan in place before you...
“It’s supposed to be hard; if it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it....”
– Tom Hanks
2 tags
“If marketers are striving to build and foster a community of advocates they...”
– Marcel LeBrun, CEO Radian6, in recent NY Times article
4 tags
Your lips are moving, but you sound like a...
We all know them: people who have Twitter (or some other kind of social media) accounts but probably couldn’t tell you how to log in let alone post something. And I don’t mean dormant accounts. Many of these people have hundreds, thousands, and even millions of followers.
These accounts are put up by well-meaning folks who want their leaders to engage with their customers,...
3 tags
Media Relations is Not PR →
The road to the C-suite is not paved with over-specialization. If you’re going to be a true leader in communications & public relations, keep these words of wisdom in mind from David Meerman Scott @dmscott.
5 tags
Higher Ed's Social Media Lag
Higher education is seemingly lagging behind government on the mass-adoption of social media. Why is this? You’d think that the bureaucracy of government would far surpass that in a college or university. Sure, some higher ed institutions have been quick to jump on board. We have Tufts University who is already accepting college essays via YouTube and my alma mater Carnegie Mellon University...
“You don’t measure social media. You measure whether or not you achieved...”
– Jason Falls
3 tags
Memo to Gov Agencies: You May Now Tweet, Blog and... →
It’s taken awhile, but I’m glad to see guidance from the federal government on social media. I hope this also offers some comfort to the states and localities that have drafted or have started to draft social media policies. It’s ok, folks, you may now proceed to connect with citizens online. I know it may seem to be a formality, but this “permission” really is...
Cara Keithley Redux
I decided to change my digital home. So here it is, a new format that fits my busy lifestyle. Check back after I’ve had the chance to post a few things and let me know what you think.