This morning I saw an article in USA Today that caught my eye, it was titled "More Companies quit [...]]]> This post started off as a few thoughts, but quickly turned into a passionate rant (my favourite)! I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and perspective in the comments section below! Enjoy! ~@TyrellMara

This morning I saw an article in USA Today that caught my eye, it was titled "More Companies quit blogging, go with Facebook instead"

It looked like an interesting article (backed by a substantial UMASS Dartmouth study), so I dove in a bit deeper… 

Here is what I found!

The Stats on Business Blogging are Out…

The USA Today article quotes a UMASS Dartmouth study stating that the percentage of companies that maintain their blog have fallen to 37% in 2011 from %50 in 2010. These numbers include both mom and pop shops, as well as large multinational brands such as Bank of America who opted to pass on a business blog and focus their attention exclusively on Facebook and Twitter. 

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Research Study

Business Blogging Downsides

There were several downsides to businesses investing in a blog that were listed, here are a few:

• Maintaining a blog takes considerably more time, energy, and resources than other social media channels
• Companies want to "be where their customers are", hence the focus on Facebook and Twitter
• Companies don't see results from their blogs (sited reason: because they are sales and push marketing focused)
• You need regular content (and to be successful, it has to be good!)
• You need to consider risks of blogging such as accepting comments, opening the conversation up to your audience, and being aware of liability concerns. 

The Other Side of the Blogging Coin

I actually very much disagree with many of the downsides stated in the USA Today article around the negatives associated with business blogging. Last year I wrote a post on 9 reasons businesses need to be blogging, but I would like to re-iterate some of my core beliefs:

• Your website is the foundation or "hub" of your online brand and presence, hosting a blog on your website will give potential customers or clients:
  • A reason to stay on your site and exposed to your brand longer.
  • A reason to visit your site to have their product or service related questions answered.
  • A reason to visit your site other than to simply buy your product or service (chances are if you are a new brand to them the trust dynamic will not have been established to the point that they will make a one click purchase),
    • A high quality blog can begin to build this trust
  • A way for potential customers to find your site through organic search traffic (google/bing/yahoo) because of the relevant keywords you use in your posts. 
  • A way to pull your potential customers to your hub (website) because they recognize you as a leader in your space, as opposed to pushing sales and marketing messages on your audience. 
  • A way to be identified as an industry leader/specialist/expert,
    • Websites and blogs do this much more effectively than facebook posts or tweets
  • A way to share the stories that make your brand unique (YOUR WHY!), begin creating a human voice and personality that represents your business,
    • This helps answer an increasingly relevant question: What makes you different/special/unique?
  • A way to involve multiple stakeholders both internally as well as externally (more on this in the next section).

Addressing the Downsides of a Business Blog

While I completely agree that maintaining a (great) blog takes considerably more time, energy, and resources than sending a tweet or posting a Facebook update, I think there are unique benefits that are inherent to a business blog as well. 

Here are a couple of examples:

Depth of Content = Industry Specialist or Expert

A friend of mine recently mentioned that the company he worked for didn't think they had any reason to have a social presence. That it wasn't relavent to their industry. This organization sold electronic power tools- and because of certain dynamics I agreed that perhaps it wouldn't be the best investment of their time to start using Twitter or Facebook, I did suggest, however, that there could be an opportunity for them to leverage a blog…

Follow my logic for a second:

1. Through employees, customers, survey's, and other collection means, the company gathers the top 25 questions consumers have about electronic power tools. 
2. These questions are assigned to different experts and knowledgable employees within the organization to write a 300 word response to that question,
   1. Note #1: A key here is that the employees are offering great value through expert content, NOT trying to sell their products.
   2. Note #2: Diving deeper into this strategy we would see some policies and procedures being implemented so there is consistency and guidelines in the process of involving stakeholders.
3. A master schedule is created and twice a month over the next year the company publishes one of these posts to their website… On their "electronic power tools experts blog".
4. Through word of mouth, in-store advertising, search traffic, e-newsletters- you can start to build a readership and awareness of your target market who are interested in learning about electronic power tools. You essentially start defining yourselves as industry experts. 

Empower Stakeholders and Delegate Workload = Community Business Blogging

We have used this approach at Tekara Organizational Effectiveness to create a truly dynamic and thought provoking thought-leadership blog which requires very little time and energy from any one individual. By involving several stakeholders in the process, in the case of Tekara, these are the consultants who sit around the table, it means a few very important dynamics: 

1. The voice of the brand is truly represented because it is no longer one person in a marketing role trying to run the whole strategy, but a community of individuals that collectively make up the unique voice of that brand.
2. Each individual is able to powerfully speak to their specific passion in alignment with the company, the blog, and then audience. You can see on Tekara's blog there are several different topic areas on the right hand column.
3. You now have stakeholders who are empowered in the process and are connected to the success of the blog through having ownership. This means you will see increases in sharing, engagement, and conversation because you are tapping into several personal networks as well as the overarching business network. 
   • The logic here is that people will naturally share the things they are passionate about. If you can facilitate an environment where stakeholders can publish their expertise and passions, they will be intrinsically motivated to share this with their communities. 

Speaking a Common Language

In my experience, social media and social business are still not commonly adopted in the business world… In essence,many businesses and professionals don't understand the overarching language. This again, is one of the limiting factors of a strategy that exclusively focuses on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. You will typically be left with a small percentage (usually marketing/social media related) people who have a strong enough grasp on the tools and best practices to drive the initiative. Which means not only will it take an exponential increased amount of time and resources for one or two people to maintain momentum, but you also lose the input, engagement, and most importantly, the voice of many other stakeholders of the brand.

I have found the community blogging strategy incredibly effective because it creates a foundation and common language in a space where much is foreign and overwhelming. No matter what your stakeholders (employees, colleagues, consultants, experts) level of digital fluency or social media adoption is, everyone can create content around their passions.

This taps into one of my most energizing beliefs that we all have a unique voice, and when we are sharing from that place of passion the message is powerful, engaging, and exciting! A business blog is how you empower your stakeholders to share that voice in alignment with the brand and audience! 

Concluding Thoughts

I am no expert (far from!). But I still believe that there can be huge benefits and opportunities in a business blog for organization's that strategically understand the bigger picture of their social business (or social media) strategy and how everything must fit together. 

That being said, I know every business is different and what works for one, may not for the other, at the end of the day it comes down to many unique factors and the above scenarios do not fit with all. 

Where do you stand?

As mentioned in the opening, I am REALLY curious to get some feedback on what others think about these new stats, and the role of having a business blog going forward! If you enjoyed this post, please say hello in the comments below!

Deadlines, presentations, reports new opportunities, wedding planning, more deadlines!

Has anyone else been busy lately?

We all are, of course- but I believe there is an interesting paradox at play, at least in my own experience. I have noticed I am the most creative and innovate [...]]]> Wow, the last few weeks have been a blur!

Deadlines, presentations, reports new opportunities, wedding planning, more deadlines!

Has anyone else been busy lately?

We all are, of course- but I believe there is an interesting paradox at play, at least in my own experience. I have noticed I am the most creative and innovate in my thinking, writing, and practitioning when I purposefully create space outside of the hard deliverables of daily work. I also truly believe that it is the people who are able to draw from this energy and powerful thinking (both conscious and subconscious) that will find the creative ways to emerge as the new leaders of the world!

Whether it leading a movement, starting a business, or discovering and leveraging your unique voice, the combination of creativity and passion is at an all time high in the opportunities around us. 

The Work-Creativity Paradox

The paradox of course is that this "zen-like" time and space seems completely counter intuitive to the daily tasks, deliverables, and work, that ultimately 'bring home the bacon'. On the other hand if all you focus on is those daily tasks with a lack of innovation, creativity, or forward progress, will you be doing them much longer?

I don't think these 'mental breaks' have to always come in big chunks like vacations or time-off, although this is the most common practice. This time can be spent in daily reflection, meditation, reading, writing, or a number of other activities that engage a different part of the brain, and also provide a very different pace and train of thought.

The Power of Reflection

I know when I create and honor this time (for me it is often reflection based) I always find that I come back to my work with questions answered, new and exciting ideas I want to write and elaborate on, and a general sense of renewed energy and inspiration. 

Have you ever had a similar experience? Do you have a practice where you can switch gears and enter that creative mindset? What holds you back from really honoring your 'zen-space'?

Tips and Examples on "Shifting" Space

Whether you have answers to the above questions or not, here are some examples of ways that I intentionally create that space in my daily life (some I currently use, others I have in the past):

1) Appreciate the Good

Either when you wake up or when you are going to bed, take a minute to reflect on 3-5 things you are truly appreciative of (they can be big or small) and write them down (you can use a notebook, smartphone, whiteboard). This is a practice that Tal Ben-Shahar shared stating simple, "Appreciate the good in you, and the good will appreciate."!

2) Goal Setting

In the morning, take a minute or two to write down your top 3-5 goals for the day. Again you can use a notebook, whiteboard, and just in your smartphone. This is a great way to create structure for your day, but it could also be a way to intentionally focus on and create space for reflection and creativity. 

3) Use your VOICE

This is a practice that social media has really blown the doors off, yet I still think it is underused. At one (or multiple) points in the day, either share something you are passionate about privately or publicly (privately could mean writing down a thought or idea in a notebook or word document, publicly could be on facebook, twitter, email). Or, find a post, article, idea through your social networks that you are passionate about and contribute a passionate and thought-provoking response. 

The goal here is to add value by using your unique voice combined with your intrinsic passions. You will find that this is always a great way to re-energize as it is an "energy filling" action. 

4) Move! 

This is one of the most simple exercises but extremely powerful. If you find yourself working for hours on end (even 1 hours is too much), to change pace, get up and go for a walk (if walking isn't for you, do a few yoga positions!). Even a 5 minute walk outside in fresh air can give you enough of a mental break to be significantly more productive when you sit back down. 

Changing your breathing is also a great way to "shift" – my colleagues Russell Hunter wrote a great post illustrating the power of breathing!

5) Change your Style

Another great way to shift your mental space is to change your style. I find this is effective especially when the work is very intensive and heavy. When I am writing a report, or reading a dense article, one way to help me creatively reflect is to get up (both during and after reading it) and draw the concepts on the ideas that are grabbing me on a whiteboard. This could be in the form of a list, a mind map, or even a drawing. I always make sure I set the context of what I want to get out of the "mini-creative" session as well. Do I want to deepen my learning, understand the bigger picture, or extract concepts that I can apply to my own practice.

All of these tactics are very different in approach and style, and I this on purpose. The point is that everyone's style and "shift" is different. To move into a reflective or creative space will require different practices for all of us. Be creative even in this process and find the times and activities on a daily and weekly basis where you can shift gears! 

What about you?

How do you shift gears, tap into your creative, and mentally re-energize on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis? 

There are two that immediately come to mind: Scope and Value. I have recently been fascinated and very passionate about the opportunities that are presenting themselves based on this new way that we [...]]]> Social Business or Social Media

What is the difference? (This is not rhetorical, please let me know what you think in the comments!)

There are two that immediately come to mind: Scope and Value. I have recently been fascinated and very passionate about the opportunities that are presenting themselves based on this new way that we are connecting through the social web, and social media. The opportunities truly are extensive, and this is no different with business. Yet, the majority of businesses I work with and talk to today are very happy creating a department, back office, or desk where their "social media" role can play. Eliminating any opportunity to see how social can influence and integrate with the rest of the business… This fully integrated approach to social media and leveraging the social web, I believe, is Social Business.

(Click to see a bigger version)

Social Business is…

• Want to develop your professional network as a CEO or entrepreneur… Use networks like LinkedIn and Twitter to start having meaningful conversations. 
• Want to market a new product or initiative… Create qualified online communities that represent your target audience, build relationships here that will create fans and loyal supporters. 
• Want to find the best candidates for your staffing and succession planning strategy: Get familiar with LinkedIn!
• Want to leverage real-time events that matter to your audience: Coordinate your PR strategy with blog posts and social engagement
• Want an internal culture with fast, effective, and efficient communication, where ideas can be born and cultivated, and changes can be executed quickly: Develop an internal social business communication strategy
• Want to prove your business as a thought leader: Publish great thought leadership content on your site or blog
• Want to keep tabs on your competition and track industry benchmarks: create an organized channel of all your competitors social activity
• Want to create buzz and conversation around your event, allowing you to engage and track the people attending/talking/interested: Create a social media promotion campaign and live event strategy
• Want more referral and word of mouth traffic: Facilitate a second to none customer service experience through 1:1 real-time communication using social media.
• … I could go on!

Social Business, A Visual Perspective

The Model above is a very simple chart of what Social Business could look like. It is important to note that this is not a complex model, and that each of the different points in the graph could be broken down into a few dozen steps and criteria. However, I love using the Ven style diagram to illustrate social business because the core business functions all connect and overlap. Even though specific departments can work on their own initiatives and strategies, everything must connect and align at the center of the diagram.

I am excited to share this chart, first and foremost to learn! I really encourage your feedback on this model!

• What makes sense about this social business model?
• What is missing, what should be added?
• Is there a specific area where you see value for yourself or your business?
• Where on this Social Business model does your organization currently operate?

Your Turn!

Please feel free to share any thoughts, comments, feedback, or concerns down below in the comments, I GREATLY appreciate it!

Thank you, 

Tyrell

Having Conversations that Matter at the Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup

Last night I had the incredible opportunity to present to the Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup! A fantastic group of entrepreneurs, business owners, and social media enthusiasts in the Greater Vancouver Area. My topic… "Having Conversations that Matter to Business"! 

One of my growing passions has been the exploration of the question "Why", in the presentation I stated that I believe before we can really embrace social media, we have to ask ourselves this question, "Why do we exist, as businesses and individuals, and what is our unique voice?" The answers to these questions provide a solid foundation from which we can build a meaningful brand and have really engaging conversation, both online and off~ this is what creates valuable relationships and communities.

I also believe, that when we start having conversations around our passions, our unique voice, and why we exist; the stakes are raised and we engage and learn at a much deeper level… Last night I invited the #FVSM community to join in this conversation together…

The Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup Response!

I was overwhelmed by the response, here are a few highlights!

Note: click on the tweet to follow each of these amazing individuals on Twitter, you won't regret it! 

Second Note: You can also follow my Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup Twitter list to join these great individuals (a great way to keep in touch with anyone you met last night!).

Your Turn! Why do you exist?

As an individual or a business, Why do you exist? What are your true passions and underlying intrinsic motivations? Do you believe that these things are important?

Feel free to join the conversation on Twitter by using the #FVSM hashtag (Fraser Valley Social Media Meetup). 

OR- leave a comment on this post sharing your thoughts and opinions! 

Thank you

~Tyrell

I am a true believer that the relationships and communities we are able to build and nurture have an incredible impact on our energy, actions, and [...]]]> A Personal Conviction…

Before I discuss how to develop online communities through creating great twitter lists, I want to share with you why this is so important to me…

I am a true believer that the relationships and communities we are able to build and nurture have an incredible impact on our energy, actions, and influence (positive AND negative). The beauty is that we have the opportunity to choose and create these communities in every aspect of our lives (work, social, spiritual, play) and through many different mediums. 

And at the end of the day, the value of the communities we build come down to the people who are a part of them. 

It is those people who we surround ourselves with who will influence our emotions, energy, and decision making (as well as our ability to continue to grow and expand our communities).

Using Twitter Lists to Create Online Communities

Twitter, and social media in general, is a big space (that's an understatement BTW!)… With over a billion tweets a week, hundreds of millions of users, and hundreds and thousands of followers, how do we develop real relationships through real online communities?

I think one of the best answers is creating Twitter lists- which basically become curated conversations, which can be made up of both people you already know, and perhaps people you don't yet know but would love to have a conversation with!

***Note #1: If you are un-familiar with using Twitter lists here is a great article by Mashable on How to Use Twitter Lists

Over time, you are able to aggregate the community you have created online into specific lists, so that you can stay up to date with the conversations and engagements that are most important.

For example, I keep an updated list of all of the great personal connections I have made in the Vancouver area.

***Note #2: If you are in (or would like to connect with) the professional/business world in Vancouver I would highly recommend checking out my Local Connections List!

TEDxSFU: Turning Events into Curated Online Communities!

This is where it gets exciting!

I had the opportunity to attend TEDxSFU this past weekend. One of the first things I found interesting is that the audience had actually been curated and qualified to 100 from approximately 400 applicants. As I was watching and engaging in the #TEDxSFU twitter stream, I realized that this was a fantastic community that has already been developed with similar interests, passions, and motivations. 

Later that night I decided to create a Twitter list with everyone who had engaged in the #TEDxSFU conversation that day. I now have a new TEDxSFU Online Community (Twitter list) of about 130 people who have all been qualified via their TEDxSFU application and participation in the Twitter stream!

This list is by no means exclusive to TEDxSFU attendees, and if you are interested in following the list and joining the conversation, PLEASE leave a comment and I will add you to the list!

The Opportunity

This opportunity of creating Online Communities via twitter lists with a specific event is quite powerful and can be applied to both individuals and businesses.

Anytime you attend an event where people are gathering around a particular subject of interest or passion there is an opportunity to build meaningful community and create valuable relationships. The problem typically tends to be that you don't meet everyone, or, you aren't able to stay in contact…

A Twitter list solves both of these issues.

The next event you attend, check to see what kind of conversations are taking place within the hashtag… If you like what you hear than there is an opportunity at your finger tips to engage new online communities that could be the beginning of great relationships and value to your or your organization!

Your Turn

What I would love to do in the comments section is hear about the great online communities you have been able to engage with through the twitter lists that you follow?

Do you create the majority of your lists or do you follow others?

I would greatly appreciate your feedback and thoughts! 

Everyday we have opportunities to have real and [...]]]> Being immersed in the social media world has made me realize how fast information moves and how much of it is out there. Our world is continually moving faster and faster, which finds us running from one thing to another with something always on the go.

Everyday we have opportunities to have real and meaningful conversations and engagements with the people we care about in our lives. We have the opportunity to build relationships, encourage others, and learn from each other. It may be with a life-long friend, or a new connection- the opportunity to learn and grow through genuine conversation is the same.

With the speed that the day moves, I have caught myself sacrificing these engagements and conversations so that I don't feel like I am "getting behind". Of course, I am already behind, and the irony is that even if I caught up (which is impossible) I would have missed out on what is really important.

What is Really Important?

I am a big believer that one of the truest sources of positive energy and intrinsic motivation comes from authentic conversations and interactions with the people that we care about, trust, and respect. While there may not be any immediate business value or ROI on these conversations, the relationships you grow and sustain are invaluable over the course of a lifetime, and without them all the ROI in the world will not make you happy.

The True Challenge