Davina @3hats › Comments

"You know 'haters gonna hate' - sometimes valid, but sometimes it's an easy out, excuse to try to justify your position as the only right one. And don't get me started on that - so many different positions, so many smart people out here, YMMV - never mind that my stuff can be just as good, but alas I lack the list-status and tribe support and am watchful of how I might be perceived. Personas it is I guess. Have a good weekend." - Davina @3hats

"What a vicious little circle.. The catch-22 - and there are about 345 here - is all about perception. See what JasonFalls wrote about being seen as an ass or flamer, b/c we dared rock the boat. Depends. If someone's of your A-list status Mark, you can get away with a professional 'Interesting but I expected more' comment; it'll be perceived as being honest and well-reasoned, dare I say 'authentic.' Were someone like me call out someone - by name - I get the 'link bait' troll label but quick. Because people perceive motivations (that sometimes aren't there), think I'm trying to trade on so-and-so's name. Back to presentations.. again, perception and expectations. My guide as a presenter is to try provide good, actionable content that you can't get elsewhere (i.e. my blog), share more; so I judge on that bias. I had a good time at SoSlam and yes, tweeted the good stuff; wanting to be authentic not negative, my recap mentioned than I got more out of meeting people than the actual..." - Davina @3hats

"Clunky or no, it's pretty darn funny." - Davina @3hats

"Not sure if I've ever asked for a comment or tweet or favor, and know for a fact I've never closed a tweet with "please RT." We give a lot, so it's not much to ask that people give a little back before hitting us up for favors or valuable, worthwhile advice. That said Mark, wonder what you'd charge for a RT or LinkedIn recommendation? ;-) FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"I have to shout out -- the taking time for advice, emails and the way people try to pick our brains online, but they'd never act like that in our offices. As a lawyer or any kind of professional consultant, our emails and advise - even if it's just helping someone w/ asking righter, smarter questions - that has great value and it's worth more than our time and a Twitter TY. Great comment Sara." - Davina @3hats

""Everything you do, and everything you don’t do, communicates about your brand." THIS! I've got about 34 different posts drafted in an attempt to articulate my approach to PR and it's that: communication is the core of all business. This was a dumb mistake - and one made out of laziness (cc Samantha Burton ). Risk handing over your image to an autobot trusted to know your keywords, this is the kind of thing that happens. The other part of that is the advertising, on which I am mixed. One the one hand, when I see ad-heavy sites all about passive income, I think 'get a real job' or I wonder why big brands need $$ from other branded sponsors. On the other, I get that companies need to find offsets for all the value they share for 'free' -- ads, affiliate links may be a way to do that. But it needs to be tastefully, target-appropriately and judiciously - this was not it. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"I like 'relationship media' and think that underscores the issue: Relationships are Work. Significant investment of time, resources, emotion go into building and maintaining relationships. Not all companies - or people - are up for the long haul. I know it's why I seldom revisit brand pages - once I got my deal, there's nothing in it for me. But if you keep making/selling stuff I like (Apple, Coke, Disney) then I stick w/ the brand, relationship or no. Is it a waste for brands to spend big on first date, nothing on getting another? Not necessarily, not if they got what they wanted out of it the first time. Of course a formula for long-term success, but then again, many companies only want to ride the wave, build the buzz then cash out before anyone realizes they're just another pan flasher. See Tom Martin good point re: campaign thinking. Too often companies (esp. some of the small biz I work with) can't get past the short-term rewards they want to see the bigger, better payoff in the..." - Davina @3hats

"More isn't always better - it's just more. Sometimes it's smarter to offer fewer, targeted options. @Raja Kasinathan cited Apple, a perfect example. On the flip side Gadi Sahar is right: ignore customers at your own risk, b/c who knows what option or feature request could drive a profitable new product line. Comes down to balance - not trying to be all things to all people, but looking at your key strengths - and how you can differentiate w/out being spread too thin. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Funny, I've been chatting with @ShellyKramer  today on ways to get more from LI - and it's just the other side of this coin: use it or lose it, you get back what you put in. If a network isn't working for you, if it's not a productive use of your time - then either change how you use it, or if you can, walk. FWIW, I still want the SEO and find I get something out of my (admittedly limited) time on LI." - Davina @3hats

"I really should share my own stuff more often - not just in updates, but via groups too. Except I always feel that broadcasting, self-pimping ickiness - someday I'll learn to get over that b/c you're right, it's part of real life networking.  I have somewhat different audiences, therefore different approaches to the various networks; a few things overlap and add personality and human interest of course. But as in life, I wouldn't share all the same things at a networking expo as I would to the college football fans in a sports bar or vice versa, right? Doesn't make sense to do so online." - Davina @3hats

"Some good advice Katy, and like any social activity LI is a 'use it or lose it - or get nothing out of it' proposition. I'm gonna take a hint from Soulati  and maybe find/participate in some different groups, see if I get more traction there; see also Rosemary ONeill on the Q&A front. Even if we don't use it so much, lots of us still do well by the SEO value, so it's worth it keep that profile active. Your last point - status updates - yes do that, but IMO do not do so by linking every tweet. I cross-post a little - but a continuous stream of scheduled tweets, that's a big no in my book. What's the point in LI if it's just all your tweets? Which brings me to Chris Norton question: Linking w/ anyone? I don't. The "casual may have met you somewhere, but hey let's connect" - that's what Twitter or G+ are for; plus it's easier to give folks the boot there. Something about the more 'professional' nature of LI, keeping things all biz - I'm a little more selective. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Sometimes picking the right silly, quippy funny image is what takes me so long when blogging. But I think it's a signature of my style - something that grabs the reader as part of the story. Videos, presentations.. right images for right medium, need to get on that for sure. FWIW I still have not tried Pinterest, but if you're in a 'picture = 1,000 words' kind of business, those stats are tough to ignore." - Davina @3hats

"Just tried HootSuite (since TD refuses to schedule tweets for me?!), learning how to set up columns - so I'll have to look into that 'no link' filter, great tip. Also trying to follow Lists rather than individuals, unsub from feeds, etc. That cuts noise on the the receiving side.. now on the sending, I don't tweet a lot (IMO) and do engage w/ others, but still want to improve. I'm making an effort to send more linkless tweets, more thoughts rather than posts, jump into more relevant conversations. Work in progress, always." - Davina @3hats

"Today my stream is hit w/ the news of Donna Summer's passing; I put "listening to this song..." as my status update to mourn her passing. Is that less 'noise' than just a 'news' RT? I think that's up to who's on the receiving end. Which brings up point #5 - sometimes these 'pedestrian' updates can be great conversation starters, and that mileage may vary. I don't want to share nothing but deep thoughts or pithy quips cc Mark Stonham - so the occasional shallow cheer for my teams or fave TV show works for me. Point #2 is why I can't 'set and forget' this - I almost always add my take on any tweet or status update. Agree w/ judicious use of hashtags, though I do use some of the texting shorthand to make tweets fit (guilty as charged). Point #7 - too much griping is a downer, but I'll also call a spade such - negative or not. Sometimes the 'good thing to say' is pointing out the bad, sharing a mistake from which others can learn something. You're right: this is of our own making. Chuck..." - Davina @3hats

"Trust is key - no matter who handles or shares responsibility for social media. If you're going to outsource it, be upfront about it - esp. if it's an individual acct. One thing - 'broadcast' content isn't always worthwhile to the audience. Share successes - what news and information your followers may find informative or even entertaining; but broadcasting from a bullhorn seldom builds engaged community. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Will do." - Davina @3hats

"They need to communicate, not just how to contact someone, but the most important thing - why you should. I've got a stack of cards that are basically contextless -- no list of specialities, nothing about what the company does -- and therefore, wasted marketing. FYI I'll be linking back to this when I finish my post." - Davina @3hats

"Another good one is Readability. Now if there was an app for the Time or even to do all the reading for me, I'd be set. ;-) FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Big difference in hearing, listening - and understanding. Part two of this: looking, paying attention, focus. It's why research is so important - what we see, what we hear when we really listen, that is what directs us, guides us to informed decisions. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Heh... saw a similar dino picture the other day. I think the business card is either 1) over done for the sake of clever design or 2) under-developed, an afterthought. I'm both a communications consultant (solo PR) and a designer and both are marketing mistakes (writing about this right now). People notice when you have something that's nice - and they notice when you don't. Having a memorable business card is about quality, not just design and printing, but also the information it shares. You're right - the smartphone won't do the networking for you; the calling card has to do that, and in order to do so people have to understand what it's trying to say. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

""Don't be boring." Word. Solid advice Nicole, makes me wonder how to apply it to businesses less suited for 'regular' customers. Just thinking past hotel chains, restaurants to other service providers - the kind of businesses we typically think of as 'one-off' buyers.  Another point about this - the importance of valuing the customers you already have. I wrote about a marketing fail in which I was hit up by a telemarketer for a promotion in my area. Catch: I was already a long-standing customer and had never been offered such a deal.. and wasn't eligible either, which just piled on the fail. As you wrote it's harder to get new customers, so doing better by the existing customer should be a no-brainer. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Picky - the company you keep, you know? Like you I need a reason - reading a blog or talking on Twitter - something to tell me how I know this person, why we should connect there. And I find the generic 'I'd like to join your network' email - well, generic and lazy. When I send requests, I personalize it, make some sort of real connection. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

""Not all customers want a relationship." Word. There are times I just want the deal or the answer or the solution to my problem - no bells, whistles, hoops of fire. Learn about your audience, what they want, need. Knowing what kind content your customers will value - that's key and it absolutely can come from anyone - esp. those on the front line. Trusting the front-desk to deal with customers face-to-face everyday but not with a tweet or blog/FB reply? That seems absurd to me.  Always been a firm believer of it's not so much when you post, how often - but what you have to say, quality over quantity or frequency. Shared a post the other day - mentioned a few important questions but didn't ask the Big Two: WHY (h/t Ameena Falchetto) and WHO (the readers, the audience, the customers). You're so right - if you start by asking and answering the right questions, the 'little' things do tend to take care of themselves. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"It is AP style, I just happened to read a story about it the other day." - Davina @3hats

"Every step = communications, amen. One of these days I'll get my argument right - it's not so much about who owns what, which dept. is 'center stage' or which tools are being used as .. it's all about communicating. Every business needs to do communicate well in order to succeed, to grow, to hire good employees, to maintain relationships with vendors, to connect with customers, to do almost anything. I'm a solo PR, a marcomm integrator, a communicator - and communications means business. Like you said, now to convince others ;-). FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Big difference in my opinion between scheduling and automation. Wanna say Neal Schaffer once blogged it, that you can automate a process but not engagement. So first off, we have to decide what we define as engagement. I do reply and respond - but am practical; I ain't Jack Bauer and can't always do so in real time. I tend to cluster my reading but don't want flood streams w/ content so I schedule and stagger it via TweetDeck and Buffer. But I can't automate my reading, or what I'd say about a particular share; it's why I passed on Triberr or any other automated blind tweeting. I may 'trust' that someone will consistently have something worth reading, but not that 1) I'd always agree w/ it and 2) I'd always want to share it. Right now, my only automation is Tweet Old Post, staggered to about twice a week. I am looking at the various IFTTT recipes but haven't used any yet; I don't 'automatically' do much - don't always follow back, don't always read every post, etc. - so there's little..." - Davina @3hats

"You know.. just read that the Boston Globe along w/ many media outlet have done away w/ using 'tomorrow' or 'yesterday' for that reason: it's not always accurate. It's better to write "Friday" and be more specific. Oh and I hate when I see plugins like TOP left on auto-pilot, esp. for an inactive account/blog." - Davina @3hats

"I've got my 'coffee consultation' rules Amber, but this is a good reminder not to get tunnel vision and focus too much on WIIFM. Reminded of that Edison quote about opportunities wearing overalls, disguised as work. Laura Click is right about finding ways to spot the opportunities, when there may be better uses of our time and expertise. As you say, it's about filters -- and seeing a bigger picture. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"I reply to emails in a day, usually sooner. In fact I think I may spoil clients in that respect, how quickly I do get things done. And you're right - it's a pretty strong barometer of how someone does business, if they aren't responsive - that's one of my peeves for sure. I totally agree with providing value - though I think that sentiment is being overused. I gotta come up with a better way to say it, b/c that's really where it counts. Things like being a resource, educating, making connections, sharing opportunities - those all bring value. Think being a member of their team is where the relationship starts to gel - when they realize you're not in this just for you, but also genuinely interested in their success. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"And see, I'm still trying to figure out @ifttt - what processes can I truly trust to auto-pilot?! Guess I'm too much of a control freak or something. And yeah, I know .. sorta answered my own question (priorities: less TV, more chats). Totally stealing "the same amount of time as everyone else" BTW, so true. It's how we work and one day, I'll master the 'work smarter, not harder' I've heard so much about. :)" - Davina @3hats