Shannon's thoughts on marketing, public relations, social technology, entrepreneurship and other things

Shannon Mouton
Shannon Mouton

the principal at Topaz Consulting, is a relationship marketing professional, with a passion for utilizing social technology for building B2B/B2C relationships, sharing information, networking and advancing the greater good. She has over 20 years of public relations, marketing and community building experience. Her combination of political, nonprofit, higher ed and corporate experience has afforded her opportunities to build communities where none existed, develop and launch innovative programming and bridge generational, economic and racial divides.

Shannon serves on the board of directors for the In Series, a Washington, DC performing arts organization. She is a regular contributor to Women Grow Business and Discover Exceptionalism, and her blog, Shannon Sez So, examines life's joys, pains and idiosyncrasies. Shannon is the founder of Topaz Consulting, a DC based marketing consultancy with a nationwide portfolio of clients. She graduated from Mount Vernon College (now part of The George Washington University) and is a proud native Washingtonian.

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2011 (31)
2010 (74)
 

And why are you investing in social media?

Does this conversation sound vaguely familiar?

Consultant: Your business should have a social marketing strategy.
Brand XYZ: Why?
Consultant: Because social technology will help you generate buzz, get people talking about our brand and in general help people know who you are.
Brand XYZ: Ok, but why is any of that important?
Consultant: Because you want to engage your customers and begin building relationships with them.
Brand XYZ: And why exactly do I want to build relationships with my customers?

Have you been on one or the other of this conversation?

Most communication vehicles had their turn as the shiny new marketing toy, billboards lined the horizon as cars began to venture cross country, radios gave voices to a generation and televisions brought products into homes like never imagined. By now, most businesses "get" they need some sort of social technology plan, if for no other reason than everyone else is doing it. However, remember what Mom used to say, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump to?"

Keeping the age old adage in mind, there should be solid business reasons for getting into the social space. Just as a business gives serious thought to choosing location, messaging and product delivery, so to should serious deliberation be given to social technology. It will take up resources, time, money, man power, etc. that could be used for other revenue generating activities. Is it going to be worth the effort?

To ensure your social technology efforts are yielding the expected results, you must first know what results you want from social technology. Right? Right. Begin by answering these basic questions: how is social media going to help your business and what are your objectives for your social media?*

Consider these sample objectives as you begin outlining your social marketing plan:

  • Bring fresh ideas into the organization
  • Create word of mouth
  • Increase customer loyalty
  • Increase product and brand awareness
  • Enhance public relations efforts
  • Lower customer acquisition costs
  • Lower customer support costs
  • Lower market research costs
  • Lower product development costs

Nugget of knowledge: Your business objectives should be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based.

*Social technology may not be the right communication or marketing vehicle for your business, and that is okay.

 

 

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Are We There Yet? (or Roadmap to Social Technology Success)

It's time for summer vacation:

  • car ready: oil changed, gassed up and washed
  • clothes packed: an outfit a day, plus a couple for dress up stuff, lingerie and sundries
  • entertainment (car): bag-o-fun packed with electronics, DVDs, CDs, magazines, games and extra batteries
  • mail forwarded and dog at the kennel
  • picnic basket packed: snacks, water and treats
  • stove off, iron unplugged and alarm set
  • map in hand: route planned, rest stops and best exits for food noted
  • hotel reservations: made last month and confirmed yesterday via email (copies on hand)
  • entertainment: amusement park tickets reserved last month and confirmed via email (copies on hand)

You're all set to go!

Think for a second...if you put that much effort into planning a vacation, wouldn't you put in the same amount of effort to planning your organization's social technology? As in the example above, proper planning helps to ensure you'll have an enjoyable vacation, with solutions and contingencies at hand for the unexpected. You should do the same thing for your business, plan, with solutions and contingencies in mind for the unexpected.

Nugget of knowledge: successful marketing campaigns are thoughtfully planned out.

Consider these steps as you begin planning:

  1. Do your homework: read blogs and white papers; attend webinars, meetups and tweetups; watch videos --> learn from other's missteps and get motivated by their accomplishments

  2. Begin at the end: envision success, know what it looks like --> set your goals and objectives, make sure they are realistic and set a time to reach them

  3. Control your brand: capture your name in the social media space --> get your username on as many sites as possible, you will not use them all, but no one else can be you in those spaces

  4. Be self aware: know your organization's history and mission, know who your customers are and where they are --> go to where your customers are

  5. Get your house in order: make sure your organization is on board with adopting social technology --> who is responsible, resources allocated, social media policies and integration plan into current marketing efforts

  6. Check out your competition: do a CASE study

  7. Evaluate your progress: make sure you're social media is taking you where you want to go --> set benchmarks as you would for a traditional marketing campaign

  8. Go for it! You will make missteps, it is okay --> do, mess up, learn...it's the evolution of success

And yes, you are there now.

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Tick Tock: 7 Ways to Max Out Your Conference Attendance

Time is your most valuable and only non-renewable resource.

Today is fleeting with every tick of the clock  and, well, tomorrow may not get here. Attending professional conferences, conventions and meetings are good ways to connect with clients, vendors and potential new clients among other things.

But conferences can be among your largest wasters of time and money if you don’t plan properly.

To make the most out of conference experiences, you need to be strategic, just as you are in every other aspect of your business.

Conferences are typically packed with sessions, workshops, receptions, panels, keynote speakers, banquets, happy hours and so on. Pre-planning is a necessity if you want to get the most out your time there.

1. Figure out your objectives for attending

Conferences are expensive. You have to pay registration, hotel, travel, food and other associated costs such as a dog walker or kennel, extra childcare and trip preparation. You can’t afford to go there and come back empty-handed.

Before you register, ask yourself: how does attending this conference help me to meet my objectives for this year? Are there other conferences that won’t cost as much and will give me the same benefit?

2. Make a plan

"Reading is fundamental" is as true today as it was when the famous literacy campaign began in 1966. Many conferences email materials to attendees ahead of time, so if you don’t have the option to pre-register for sessions, be sure to make a schedule for yourself.

You don’t want to waste time walking the halls, trying to figure out what is going on where and whether or not you should attend.

3. Take care of yourself

Be sure to schedule time for on-your-own-meals, work you need to do, rest and exercise. There are only so many hours in a day and you need to eat, sleep, work, attend sessions, network, check on things at home and so on, don’t overdo it.

Pace yourself.

4. Attend the social events

The parties, happy hours, receptions, dinners and brunches are as valuable as any session if not more so. Go to the events, armed with your elevator pitch, business cards and a smile. Be prepared to start conversations with strangers and politely jump into group discussions.

Good networkers are ready to offer advice, as well as ask for support.

5. Test ideas

Conferences are meccas for the pioneers, innovators and rock stars of your field. Take a few extra minutes at a book-signing or after the workshop to bounce an idea off of someone. Get different perspectives on a idea by holding an informal focus group with colleagues during breakfast or a coffee break.

6. Do CASE studies

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then CASE studies are the best thing since sliced bread. Copy and steal everything is the premise of utilizing an organization’s or person’s best practices and infusing them into your enterprise.

Good ideas make the world go ’round; using them makes it go ’round easier.

7. Follow-up, follow-up and follow-up

Email, call, tweet or write a letter. Use all of the business cards you collected to remind people who you are, where you met and how you two can work together.

Most importantly, have fun at the conference. Relax, enjoy the change of pace and look forward to your future as the “rock star” at next year’s conference.

This is a post I wrote for Women Grow Business and was originally posted on April 8, 2010.

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Posterous theme by Cory Watilo.
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