GUEST POST - You Lost Me at Google+

Julie Geller – RDM Partner, Social Media Strategist
Julie has spent twelve years in the digital marketing space. Her background has allowed her to develop strong skills in strategic planning, preparing and implementing social media governance models, building and sustaining community, reporting and stakeholder management. A skilled social media strategist, Julie has experience providing direction for mid to large-scale online marketing programs. She has worked on social media initiatives for multiple business verticals, including broadcast, retail, IT, natural health, financial, education, automotive and not-for-profit.

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Okay, so you wake up in the morning and log on to your RSS reader. You promote some content on your social properties and feel pretty good about yourself.

Then, you check your Klout score. You’ve dropped one point. One point?! The mental breakdown begins.

Am I a loser? What are my friends’ scores? Did I update Facebook enough yesterday? How’s my pinboard looking? Did I tweet, or just retweet? Do I have a POV? What social networks am I missing?

At this point, you’ve lost your grip on the fun and engagement of social media and descended into social’s daily drudgery — staying ahead of the competition. There’s never enough time to keep up. It’s all just so friggin’ overwhelming.

Panic only breeds panic. So take a deep breath, have a coffee, think and contribute. The answers are surprisingly simple.

Make friends with your RSS reader. Sounds like old news? It’s not. Continually edit and add to the sources you follow to keep things fresh. Ask your friends and family to share their favourite sources. Look for automated “if you like this, you’ll love that” recos and get them working for you.

Remember frequency. Make a point of sharing your commentary at least three to five stories each day. This will help you get into a daily groove, and it will build a following of people who will count on seeing your content.

Develop a point of view (POV). Don’t make the mistake of only retweeting. Let go of your fear of judgment and assert a POV. Ask yourself: Why do I want to share this content? What’s one valuable point I can focus on from this article? Is there a larger issue that I can use to drive broader engagement? Should I target a segment of my followers? What do I think of the author’s POV? If you’re still not inspired, seize the opportunity to respectfully counter with a witty short statement.


Participate only in the social networks you find valuable. The competition breathing down your neck isn’t worried about “belonging.” Make a resolution to stop being part of the 99%. Yes, you want to be responsive to what people are saying, but forget the quantity and focus on quality.

Crazy simple, right? In no time, you’ll gain followers, increase your influence and restore your mental health.

The Integration (and Growth) of the Online Channel

Although it's difficult to keep this perspective when you're immersed in the interactive world, the online channel really only represents a segment of the overall marketing mix, and thus, a percentage of total spend. The side-effect of this is that online often takes its direction from offline strategies, creative and messaging. The nature of this positioning has actual impact on the role of an Interactive Project Manager, which is what I'll discuss in this entry.

Is the web an afterthought?: Most online agencies are full of creative and ingenious people - people who provide incredible strategies and creative direction for online campaigns. Sadly, however, these people are also often handed direction by their clients' traditional agencies, posing a real limitation on original thinking. Although the web brings to life unique and deeper opportunities for consumer engagement, insight and extension of brand value. For a PM, this scenario means reigning in your team before any intensive ideation occurs, to ensure you have offline assets in-hand before going off in the wrong direction unknowingly.

Making friends with traditional partners: If your client works with offline agencies, the best thing you can do is position yourself in alignment with their efforts. Ask your client to share offline tactics with you. Always request to receive approved collateral- print pieces, television ads - anything produced for other media channels. All of these materials need to be reviewed and leveraged to create an online experience that delivers brand consistency and on-target messaging. You will also save your organization needless time and money spent strategizing concepts that may turn out to be off-brand.

Evangelize the difference!: As a Project Manager, you work very closely with clients and can influence their outlook. Always champion the unique benefits of the online channel. Don't fight the offline tactics - take them and push them further. The web is a reciprocal medium - a two way street that allows for the exchange of information with consumers. It is measurable and can also be refined based on metrics and analysis of performance - something that cannot happen as easily with traditional media.

Over time, the industry will see a shift in marketing dollars, where online receives an increased spend - in fact, it is already happening. Traditional marketing channels will not disappear, but the web will receive its due glory as clients scrutinize budgets and realize interactive media can better conclude ROI and also respond more quickly to change. The future is indeed bright for Interactive Project Management.

Listen To The Buzz

I was privileged enough to attend the recent IAB Social Media Marketing Course in Toronto. Mitch Joel was the presenter, and he did a fantastic job of engaging the group of 175 for nine hours.

Mitch covered many topics related to social media, but the one that had me thinking most was how social media has allowed consumers to affect brands. With blogs, wikis, and sites like YouTube, consumers have taken marketing by storm. They are creating new brand messages, elevating brand awareness, and changing brand voice. In many ways, consumers have taken marketing into their own hands by shaping the messages which are broadcast over the internet and ripple into the real world. This feedback loop is tremendous and can be leveraged to strengthen a brand if harnessed in the right way. In order to do this, however, we all need to shift our mindsets to embrace a more transparent, open marketing dialogue - one that may not be completely controlled by a corporation. It's a paradigm shift in our approach to traditional marketing because it exposes a brand to ideas and opinions which aren't controlled by the corporate team.

The fact is that the internet has provided avenues for expression that can't and shouldn't be controlled. The discussion around a brand may be a negative one, but at least it's being discussed in a forum where the brand team can not only see it, they can actually react and respond to it. What an opportunity to connect with consumers and gain invaluable insight that can be leveraged to tweak and strengthen marketing strategies.

Ultimately, the message to marketers is to listen to the buzz - put your ear to the digital ground and understand how consumers truly view your brand. Pick up on nuances and utilize them to your advantage. If you respond to discussion and create a sense of efficacy and openness, you will set your brand apart from the competition, who will likely be running the other way.