Laura’s Looking Glass

Hi all,

I’m moving my blog over to Wordpress… http://lauran546.wordpress.com/. see you there!

I’ve never been good with change. Accepting it, no. Appreciating it, only after years. And, facing it, not always. At a time in our careers where change is the only constant, I must say - it keeps me on my toes and always has be asking myself “Will what I do today make a difference tomorrow? Will what I do matter at all?”

Someone once told me that you will only give your heart to one company. I equated work and my career to a relationship, one that I invested in and prioritized. After two years of a honeymoon phase, I started to see dramatic changes - ones that I was never prepared for - an economic downturn that shook all of us. I said goodbye to colleagues, projects that I loved, and mentors that I needed in my life. I saw a thriving organization live in fear. After working on integration projects, downsizing and even mergers and acquisitions, I never wanted to live through it. It was my first heartbreak. And as firsts go, one that will never be forgotten. I know, I can be a bit dramatic … just go with it.

Today, someone said to me, “People will come and go.” And I admit, he’s right in every way.  One thing that I can’t let go of though is the fact that when you have the right people, at the right place and time - working on the right client - it’s heaven. That’s what I love. I love that moment when the work we do is incredible and when we’re have pure fun. So yes, people come and go - but when it’s right - cherish that moment. I felt that once, and I hope that I’ll have that feeling again — when the work that I do truly makes a difference in someone’s life. Hope that wait isn’t long.

While in the midst of planning for next year, I keep hearing “How do we make this social?” My initial reaction is a sassy one that sounds a little like, “Oh, well, it’s kind of like that EASY button everyone keeps talking about. I’ll just press the SOCIAL one and done!’ The real answer is, “Let’s look at our goals and objectives, and we’ll go from there.” So, any good plan starts there – asking the right questions to come up with brilliant ideas, only to be … well you know…

So let’s go back to that first step. Here are my thoughts on how to have the most productive brainstorm.

1. Be mindful of time: Always plan for at least an hour to brainstorm. For those of you in agency work, you know that it takes a good 15 minutes to shut down your brain from other billable work.
2. Think who: One important factor to creative thinking is people diversity. The room should include people from different backgrounds, and those who may never have worked on the project to bring some out-of-the-box thinking.
3. Environment is everything: Think about what sparks your creativity. Make sure the room is open and arrange it so that people are facing each other, to encourage participation. Bring out toys, holiday lights or even themed decorations. Who can resist a pirate patch? Argghh matey.
4. Ask the right questions: A productive brainstorm has to be a carefully planned one. Think about who needs to be in the room, what you want you want to get out of the meeting, and what questions you want to ask to spark ideas. Spend at least an hour prepping for the meeting – research your target audience and develop 4-5 questions that align with your business objectives. Your first question should be slightly unrelated – just to warm-up. This could be, “What’s your favorite social media brand?”
5. What should it look like: Break up your hour with 10 minutes for an overview and share any research findings, and then spend 40 minutes creating initial thoughts and allowing time for building. Each attendee should have one stack of post-its and a marker. For your 40 minute brainstorm session, ask your first question and allow attendees to spend 2 minutes jotting down there ideas on the post. One idea per post-it. Then go around the room and have each person share their ideas, then allow others to build on those ideas for another 5 minutes. Go through this until you get through the last question. Then spend your last 5 minutes discussing next steps.
6. Find themes: After the brainstorm, take time to review the ideas, find the common theme and organized them. Then, ask the team to reassemble and pick their favorite idea, but voting on their top 3.

My favorite thing about this format of brainstorming is that it allows people who are more introverted to share their ideas. No conversation-dominators will minimize your plethora of ideas. Instead you should walk away with walls filled with post-it notes of ideas! Have you tried something similar? How has it worked? Do you have any recommendations of other brainstorming methods?

I have a lot of favorites – favorite people, foods, music, places, and yes – even social media practices and companies. Below are a few of my favorite social media projects … for the week at least.

Salty from Knorr Sidekicks
This campaign was developed by DDB and it’s one of my favorites! Why you ask? What we continue to stress to clients is the need for a more integrated approach to communications. Social media cannot standalone. Rather, we need to build our traditional and digital plans in conjunction with one another. Today, we cannot succeed without collaboration. Check out the video below. Also check out Salty’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

My Starbucks Idea:

Starbucks is on my list of a few favorites, but I’m adding them to the social media list for their My Starbucks Idea. This is a great example of gathering consumer feedback for meaningful use, plus there are social sharing tools for facebook/twitter sharing. Companies that ask for consumers’ ideas and comments have to be ready to take action, based on that feedback. Starbucks has a built a strong reputation as a trusted and responsible brand. I’m optimistic that they’ll take our ideas for good use.

Life In a Day: 

YouTube recently announced a partnership with director, Ridley Scott, to develop a documentary created by us – the people of the world! All we have to do is capture footage about our life and send it in. The video will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. This is the first major consumer-generated movie. It goes to the core of social media and voyeuristic appeal that has made reality TV so successful.

I wrote this post when I was in route home after three days at the Digital Pharma West Conference in San Francisco. Though the weather was beautiful and the food fantastic, I can’t help but reflect on the people I met, the things I learned and the ideas that I hope to one day execute (that will come at a later date).

The social media community is a unique one – it’s friendly, personal and uninhibited. Maybe this comes from the realization that social media allows us to get rid of the awkward introductions. You somewhat know the person, where they’re from, what they like, and if your views somewhat align. It makes conferences like these easier. Enough with my lovefest for social media folk - here are some key takeaways from the conference, that I think could be applicable to any industry (highly regulated or not).

Social Media Strategy is Needed, No Matter What People Say:

I know that people are tired of hearing that SM Strategy, but the fact is – it’s essential for companies who are in the crawling and even walking stages of social media implementation. Even for companies that are running marathons, a strategy helps to ensure that measureable goals and tactics, not the tools, direct align with that strategy. Plus, when review time comes – don’t you want to say, “Look what we’ve achieved?”

Transparency Authenticity are Key:

At the conference, there was a lot of discussion around transparency, but I’m going to go ahead and add authenticity in there because I feel like they go hand in hand. When we think about blogger outreach we need, we continue to stress the importance of FTC guidelines and disclosure. However, I think brands need to be transparent in their practices and participation in social. For example, if you’re moderating comments – state that. Never assume that something is common practice. Instead, state your purpose of your social media participation.

Authenticity is important for all companies in social media. What I’ve seen in pharma and other regulated industries, like financial, is that there is fear of a two-way dialogue. Social media is all about the conversation. If you don’t want to be a part of that, then maybe we need to think of other tools that align with your needs.

Know Your Audience, Don’t Assume:

While at the conference, I met Doctor Anonymous, who shared that many case studies were focused on orphan disease conditions, leading to high success rates because of a pure monopoly of the disease space. Some great studies were shared at the conference, but one that received great praise was Genentech’s online community for Cystic Fibrosis. This case study was one of them. Let’s set the results aside for now and focus on the research. Genentech provided us with an in-depth look at  their audience research – looking at not only demographics, but also attitudinal segmentation, recognizing how patients identified with their disease.

I think this is something each brand should do – and we never do enough of – look at who your audience is, what motivates them, where are they on their journey or life path, what are their burdens. Only then can we truly provide our audiences with what they truly want. After all, assuming only leads us down a dead-end road.

Define Your Business Objectives and Measure Against Them:

We’re in the middle of planning for 2011, and I had a great mentor who always asked me – “What are their business goals and how do they define success?” She said that if we couldn’t answer these questions, then we weren’t doing the best work for our clients’. After you define your goals, always remember to stay true to them. Especially with social media, we’ll need to make adjustments – but only if they directly align with our goals.

Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate:

I know it sounds silly, but collaboration across all lines and all levels only leads to success. I think that initially, it will be difficult to get everyone signed on, but the day of living in silos is over. PR needs to work with marketing and sales and yes, even your agencies need to talk. Yes, one person can make a difference – but that one person can’t do everything. Effective teamwork and collaboration across departments will lead to success for everyone. At the end of the day, that’s the moment that we’re all looking for.

And my final note – please do NOT hire a newly graduated college student to manage your brand’s social media practices. Yes, it’s great experience for them – but would you leave your brand’s reputation in the hands of someone who has no experience in the workforce, your brand voice, customer service or crisis management? I wouldn’t.

Overall, the conference provided me with opportunities for great discussions and the chance to meet smart people who are passionate about social media. Regardless of what field you’re in, I firmly believe that employees are truly seeking to help – help to connect people to products or services that will ultimately help the consumer.

The photo above was taken by Alistair Watters.

A study that came out yesterday about consumers’ trust of brands, specifically through Twitter. Although I’m not sure how I feel about brand trust via Twitter, I think it does allow brands to communicate with their consumers at times that matter most. From a brand’s perspective, Twitter is a safe space to play, specifically for highly regulated industries. However, entering the space and knowing how to play the game are two different stories.

Here are my observations of how brands can engage, the right way:

Listen, in order to be heard

Time and time again you’ve heard the importance of listening. This is a critical component of social media engagement, but it’s the most often to be cut out due to time allocations, resources or pure budgetary restraints. Any social media strategy requires knowing your audience, responding to your audience and giving them what they want and need. If you can’t achieve these requirements, you’re selling yourself short of truly making a lasting relationship and impact.

No one likes a self-promoter, be a resource

Since Twitter can be considered the safe social media platform, many brands will use it to broadcast news. The reality is, you don’t come into a party and talk about yourself, your accomplishments and all that you’re proud of. Chris Brogan has a great rule – split your time between listening, being a helpful resource, and finally - talking about yourself. Engagement means two-way dialogue and avoiding it while practicing social media is an oxymoron. Ask, answer and share. Social media and Twitter are about enriching our need for human relationships – personal and professional. Give followers something value. Twitter is not a status update – it’s a connection.

Be timely when it matters most

In the recent Harris and Fleishman-Hillard study, Dave Senay shared that Twitter offers brands a key opportunity to address and respond to crisis situations. @PRSarahEvans shared how she used Twitter to communicate during the Chicago earthquake, but from a brand’s perspective – companies can now give real-time updates on transportation crises, product recalls or natural disasters like the BP’s Gulf response. Rather than allowing news sources to be your company’s voice, doesn’t it make sense to have a voice yourself?

There are many other elements of company’s Twitter usage. What would you say is the no. 1 thing companies should be aware of when using Twitter?

In cleaning my desk the other day, I came upon a gift from someone very dear to me - it is Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management. As I thumbed through the spiral-bound book and reminisced all that my mentor shared - I came to the realization - I’ve been one lucky girl.

Since my introduction into the workplace, I’ve been gifted with truly brilliant leaders - who lead with their heart, trusted their instincts and truly believed in their team. It is through individuals like these that we, millennials, can truly grow and create a workplace that we dream of. Companies and teams that perform are those that draw from their strengths. So, here’s what I’ve learned from my glimpse into the workforce:

Collaboration is key:

Good leaders are those that bring in the right people at the right time. You must develop productive partnerships, where others feel valued. Once there is a level of accountability and mutual respect, the possibilities are endless!

Invaluable Advocates:

Be an advocate for your team! It seems so little, but I feel that so often this gets lost. Leaders who set high expectations, then work collaboratively with the team to meet and exceed those results cannot end there! Recognize your team for their hard work and show your appreciate. A thank you goes a long way. (And don’t take the credit for their work – no one likes that).

Be a team member:

Dedication is such an overused word, but I’m using it here. There comes a time when leaders must work beside their team. These are traditionally the most respected managers that yield results. Nothing makes a team more motivated to excel than a leader who also is willing to make the sacrifices to achieve OUR goal.

Lead Change, Don’t Dictate: 

No one likes a dictator, especially not millennials. Today’s workforce is comprised of a variety of voices, across different age groups, race/ethnicity and backgrounds – but one thread is common in all of us – we want to feel valued and we want to feel that our opinions and thoughts are appreciated. Forget to listen, and you may find yourself sitting alone in that conference room.

So I guess it’s my time to say thank you! Thank you to two instrumental women who have shaped my career and my professional perception of successful team leadership.

Any of tips and thoughts on various leadership styles?

(Image courtesy of thegoldguys.blogspot.com)

Over the past few years, editorial content has begun to take shape on social networks and social platforms. The opinions of everyday people are increasingly more valued and trusted by the general public. But what I’ve seen time and time again is common mistakes to lack of understanding - the first step is to LISTEN.

Social media is rooted in conversation and all conversations start with a nice introduction and a - How are you? So practice social media - how you practice in life? Unless you’re a selfish conversation hog. If that’s the case - stop reading now.

For the rest of us - a successful relationship entails listening and I repeatedly stressed the importance of relationships in Influencer Outreach. Don’t pass someone’s contact information from one person to another, because these relationships are personal.

Be sure to:

• Identify the right people to reach out to

• Respect the influencer

• Act in an authentic and transparent manner

• Conduct outreach for relationship-building, not for sales

What do you define as success when you start a new relationship with online influencers?

Today marks the beginning of a new day or rather a revisit of an old one for me. Before this blog, I was a regular voice for the Out Front Blog with a group of incredibly smart individuals in the world of gay and lesbian communications. Today and for an indefinite amount of time, I hope to provide you all with my look at communications, my life and my hopes.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to grow my skills and passion in social media. When I first began my career in public relations, I fell in love with corporate communications and internal communications. With the emergence of social media, I began to see how this new medium can affect how we communicate, work and live. This blog will be an outlet of my viewpoints, and mine alone. If you disagree - tell me! I hope that you’ll ask questions and share your thoughts and views on this blog as well. No point in talking to myself.

More to come soon.