Today was day 1 of social media tools week. It comprised two sessions – one from Axel Schulze and one from John Todor.
Both were cracking sessions and a good intro into the week we all have ahead of us.
Axel as always gave us a really good overview of how social media is starting to impact our business world. I could sense Axel wanting to break loose and really get stuck into some of the entrenched mindset issues that we all confront – but he kept it under control.
John’s presentation took things to a new level. John touched on many of the ideas that we’ve had around social business – and why we’ve set ourselves a goal of becoming a leader in social business strategy space.
Axel and John have set a good foundation for the week. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s presentations as I work hard to wrap up what I intend to present.
And it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the tireless work of Marita Roebkes in bringing this whole program to fruition…herding cats no less
Thanks to the team from Social Media Academy I’ve been given the opportunity to present at their global multi-day event next week – Social Media Tools Week. Given we’ve just launched Smart Social Media – this is a great opportunity to outline some of our thinking on social media.
The topic of my presentation is
Social Media Monitoring – Why the Executive team needs to be using these tools
Why this topic?
Several reasons. Firstly, social media monitoring tools like Scout Labs have quickly evolved from brand buzz monitoring tools into significant business intelligence portals.
Secondly, TEC speaker Gary Bertwistle is a big proponent of business leaders being active thinkers. Gary’s speaking topics like ‘What made you think of that‘ and ‘Leading Innovation‘ has influenced how I think information should be used in organisations and the importance of a business leader having access to knowledge that isn’t shaped by functional prejudice.
The current business climate means their are many threats and opportunities and business leaders need to be alert and need to be looking across more than the traditional information channels. I’ll also drill into why Government agencies need to be using these tools as well – and why they are more powerful and useful than existing services (like news clipping services).
My presentation is Thursday the 19th at 10.30am AEDT (9.30am for those of us in Queensland).
I’ll be posting more details on my presentation between now and Thursday.
I was introduced to a new service this week called SoftwareShortlist. This service aims to change the information dynamic around software from vendor-led to customer-led. Given one of our goals is to help SME’s make the right software decision based on their needs – this service appealed to me. This YouTube video gives you a good intro:
Having dealt with many dozens of SME’s over the years one of the complaints we’d often here is that vendor sales reps were more focused on punching out deals and maximising their revenue/commission rather than solving customer problems in a meaningful way. As Axel Schulze from Social Media Academy rightly pointed out earlier this year – the world is changing and the sales profession needs to change or find itself marginalised if not redundant. I agree with Axel – though I’m more optimistic that sales will adjust.
In my opinion, SoftwareShortlist is another example of how the world is changing for sales people. Using Web 2.0 technologies the service is going to take information control away from the vendor and the sales person and put it in the hands of the crowd – the information is being democratised. As customers use SoftwareShortlist and develop their own opinions and needs away from the control of the vendor the challenge therefore is how the sales team adapts to this new world.
What will the sales person be doing that couldn’t be done by an inside sales person? Or the vendors active contribution to the community’s knowledge pool?
SoftwareShortlist is still in Beta, but for now the idea has merit and I hope we see the service grow quickly in the future.
I received an email from Marita Roebkes of Social Media Academy this morning that contained a gem of a piece of information – “A few tips to improve your social profiles”. The 10 items that Marita lists are all simple things but when you add them together, become a powerful force
Marita’s tips were
Have a consistent photo across all profiles – it’s your “personal logo”
Don’t make your photo be “special” – you are unique 100% guaranteed
Cross reference other profiles i.e. from Twitter you may point to your LinkedIn profile
Always state your real name – nick names are like avatars – so 1990
Write your bio as a combination of your business profile and personal focus
If you can provide links to your other social networks and blogs
Consider all activities on a site as part of your profile, your identity
Provide it in a way that it works for both your best friends and your customers
Even so you may separate business from personal life – the viewer may not
Point to your profiles whenever you have the opportunity
This is a very intelligent list and one we should all take note of.
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