Bite Size B2B Marketing Talk Podcast. Pull the String and Listen

When I was a kid the really cool new dolls had a string on their back that when pulled would say something? (they were my sister's dolls - honest!).

Sometimes I wish I had a string on my back.

Like when I find myself having to discuss and explain the same marketing topics over and over.

As much as I love to talk marketing with prospects and colleagues, there are only so many minutes in a meeting/day. And people are busy.

And I have discovered that 80% of the marketing questions I am asked relate to a short list of a dozen or so marketing concepts - like what we mean by content marketing or how to integrate social media/networking into a marketing plan.

So, I decided to record some short podcasts (under 10 minutes) on these topics. Not to automate or replace the personal conversations I have day-to-day with clients and prospects but to have a resource I can direct people to for more information or to share our discussions with peers.

We branded these podcasts "Bite Size B2B Marketing Talk" and created an iTunes channel where they will be hosted.

Each "episode" gives actionable marketing and PR tips with respect to B2B marketing and PR.

The first episode in what will be a monthly series is titled "Content, Your Marketing and PR Foundation". And it is now available on iTunes. Our next episode in August is on integrating your "social" sites with your ongoing marketing and PR

This blog post includes the transcript for the first episode on content marketing. I invite you to pull the string and listen. And if you have suggestions for other topics please let us know.

So go ahead, pull the string. And maybe experiment by creating your own series for your prospects and customers. And if you need help getting started give us a call - our HRmarketer Services Group can assist.

EPISODE ONE TRANSCRIPT

What is content marketing?

Wikipedia defines it as "an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. Marketers may use content marketing as a means of achieving a variety of business goals. These may include: thought leadership and lead generation".

What is meant by content?

Content can be many things. Articles, survey results, white papers, ebooks, case studies, blog posts, webinars, or a podcast like the one your listening to.

I titled this episode "Content: Your Marketing and PR Foundation" because once you create a piece of content it can be used in a variety of ongoing marketing and PR tactics. "Ongoing" is an important term because marketing is not a spigot you turn on an off. Marketing needs to be a constant at your company to keep the pipeline full and maintain the visibility you need to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. And content is the most cost-effective way to do this.

So lets get right to discussing the practical use of content and how you can build a comprehensive marketing plan using content as the foundation.

What type of content should we start with?

I suggest a white paper. A white paper can be as short as 3-5 pages. It is a non-promotional educational piece that speaks to a pain-point or challenge your target customers are dealing with. Why? Because you want to create content that your buyers will find useful in solving their day-to-day challenges. I say non-promotional because this is not a commercial about how great your product is - that will only turn-off your prospects.

So what do you write about? Lets say, as an example, you sell a product or service relating to background screening. You might write about the importance of doing background checks for new hires, the proper way of conducting these checks, what's legal, the types of checks you might want to do, how they may be different for full-time employees versus contractors, and current legislation that might impact how you conduct such checks.

The point is to make it educational and position your company as a thought leader in the space you compete in.

Don't worry about promoting your company in the content. Trust me, your buyers will know what you do because you'll include a short description about your company at the end of the content and a URL to your site on each page footer.

Who can write the content?

If you don't have internal resources, hire a freelance writer using craigslist or another freelance site. You might even find a popular blogger in your industry to write it for you.

After it is written, make it look great. Again, if you don't have internal resources find someone who can take your MS Word document and turn it into a sharp looking PDF.

Then, put the white paper on your website. You might want to require a short form to be completed in order for someone to access the content - these become leads for your sales team. But don't require to much information. I suggest asking for a name, company name email and phone and maybe one qualifying question like "Do you currently use background screening when hiring new employees?

OK - you have a great piece of content (in this case a white paper) and it's loaded to your site.

Now what?

Now you promote the content.

Start with an online news release that announces the availability of the content and directs readers to a landing page on your web site where they can download the content. Upload the release to your web site and post to a service like PRweb or other news distribution service like HRmarketer.com software. Not only does this broadly announce the availability of the content but serves as a permanent promotion on the web for your content, to be found by your buyers when they type related keywords into a search engine. This also has long-lasting SEO benefits.

Next, send the news release to key journalists in your industry. In your email to the journalists, "pitch" the news in a way that encourages the journalist to take interest and write about your content. You might even offer a customer or expert the journalist can interview on the subject.

You can send a similar "pitch" to prominent bloggers in your industry who might find the content useful and may write about it.

Next, send a direct email to your house prospect list announcing the availability of the content. You can also rent or purchase an email list of prospects in your industry and do a campaign to them.

But this is just the beginning. If you have a newsletter, mention the availability of the content in the newsletter.

Now lets talk social marketing.

Blog about the content on your company blog. You might even turn it into several blog posts over a several week period, highlighting certain sections within the white paper. You do have a company blog, right?

Then "share" the content on your company Facebook Page. Also share it to your LinkedIn network and any relevant LinkedIn "groups" you are a member of. Then tweet about it with relevant hashtags. Again, you can do several tweets over a few days, each time pitching it it in a slightly different way with different hashtags.

You can then record a short podcast on the white paper topic. Keep it to under 20 or 30 minutes and designate someone to host the podcast and interview a subject matter expert on the topic you write about - think of it as a short Q&A session on the key topics in the white paper. Use a service like Skype to do the recording. When done, upload to iTunes and link to it from your web site.

If you don't have a company blog, facebook page, twitter account, iTunes and YouTube channel you should. Our next podcast episode will discuss the basics on getting these set-up and how to use them.

What else?

How about condensing the white paper into a shorter 500 -800 word article and pitch it as a byline article for inclusion in a relevant trade magazine or website in your marketplace? Every publisher needs content and you'd be surprised at the interest you might receive.

If you have a company YouTube channel you can record a short video that summarizes the content. This is easier than you think. It can be as simple as using iMovie and your built in web cam to discuss the white paper, show a few graphs and direct people to a URL where they can access it.

Another use of the content is a webcast. Use a service like GoToWebinar to host a webcast on the topic discussed in the white paper. Have a guest speaker who is an expert on the subject matter. You can then use direct marketing, a press release and your social sites to promote the webinar - maybe offering the white paper as a perk each attendee gets after listening to the webcast.

And of course, you can record the webinar and have it on your web site for visitors to view.

Everything i just discussed can be spread out over two to three months.

Then, reload.

Create another piece of content and follow the exact same steps. When you do this you'll have a solid 12-month content based marketing campaign that will give you increased visibility online, increases sales leads and better SEO.

And the best thing about it - it is not as expensive as you might think.

Join us next time when we discuss using social media in your B2B marketing and PR. We'll discuss how to set-up and put to practical business use a company blog, facebook and LinkedIn page, twitter account, iTunes and YouTube channel.

See you next time.


Post by HRmarketer CEO Mark Willaman. Join Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Flick. Light Bulb. I need to do more marketing!

He told me it was a valuable review of “Marketing 101” – but it was still Marketing 101 and he wanted a deeper dive (referring to our webinar last week about HR B2B marketing is more than social).

And that’s okay (the deeper dives are coming by the way), because not everyone needs that baseline review, although I still run into savvy business owners and marketing pros who do need it.

As if only as a reminder that the number of tactics has exploded in the past decade.

EX-PLO-DED.

The diversity of tactics is just as diverse as the professionals using them, who are just as diverse as your buyers and influencers consuming them -- while your strategy remains focused on generating visibility, website traffic and sales leads.

So it was refreshing to hear these words from another one of those savvy business owners:

“I need to do more marketing!”

That was Lindsay Colitses, Principal at Windridge Consulting, a professional hiring and coaching consultancy that helps companies identify “best fit” candidates for their clients’ positions.

Here’s what she has to say about our Marketing 101 webcast review:

It brought me back to a "marketing" mindset. Seriously, social media is great, but it shouldn't replace other more traditional marketing streams…Email sends used to be a mainstay for me. I abandoned them because of the difficulty of getting past spam filters, and quite honestly, the cost was prohibitive when people were not spending money on virtually anything anyway. It feels like we're coming out of that "battened down" phase - I hope!

An interesting aside, I had a returning client ask me last what happened to my e-newsletter, which I abandoned for blogging. It made me reevaluate the fact that my clients like getting something specifically targeted to them…

Lindsay and I are going to talk soon about tactical strategy, but keep these three things in mind:

1. You have to constantly evaluate your marketing mix to ensure you’re generating the visibility, traffic and leads that sustain your sales efforts and growth. If not, then it’s time to revisit tactics that maybe you haven’t engaged in for a while.
2. Larger companies may have the budgets and staff to manage dozens of marketing activities, but smaller companies can still manage at least a dozen effectively and reasonably. Really.
3. You need to prepare, plan and execute a monthly marketing strategy. Then measure and revise – and re-prepare, plan and execute a monthly marketing strategy.

As Mark wrote yesterday, if all you do is social media you are not doing enough and it's not going to work.

It all starts with content. And once you have a system in place to produce ongoing, non-promotional, credible content on a regular basis that is valued by your business audience you must then have a system to distribute and communicate that content - which includes not only social media (blogs, twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Podcasts) but more TRADITIONAL marketing and PR such as press releases, media relations, direct marketing, webcasts, advertising, trade show participation, and so much more.

To help you get started we again recommend some content HRmarketer produced, starting with another webcast today, Tuesday, July 26, at 10 am PT (1 pm ET) titled HR B2B marketing is much more than social. Dude - register now.

Future webcasts will deep dive into topics such as social media marketing (go figure), event marketing, traditional media relations, lead nurturing, branding and much more.

Social Media Done Right Ain't Cheap (nor is it all you need to do)

Whoever believes that social media is inexpensive is either doing it wrong or has a marketing staff that works for free.

Sure, anyone on a limited budget can create a basic company Facebook page and set-up a LinkedIn and Twitter account. But if all you are doing is sharing other people's content and making a few random tweets and comments - like you may do for your personal social media - you'll quickly realize that strategy won't work for your business.

When you participate in social media tactics for business (which must also include blogging) you have an obligation to fund those sites with content. And you need a process for not only providing on-going, up-to-date content but for providing compelling content that engages your audience and positions your company as a thought leader or valued resource for customers and prospects. You also need a process for distributing and managing that content throughout your social media properties.

And that, folks, takes resources - a lot of resources.

And if you are still on the sidelines and not sold on the value of social media, well, I don't know what to tell you.

Procter & Gamble is one of the most respected companies in B2C - and a company that is known for great marketing. P&G was an early adopter for using content based marketing and excels in social media as a strategy for attracting and engaging customers. Their sites which include HomeMadeSimple.com and ManoftheHouse.com, are text book case-studies on the effective use of content and social media. Check them out. And don't laugh - they are quite effective.

If it works for a consumer goods company like P&G - who trust me, measures everything and would not invest in marketing strategies that weren't effective - then it can work for your B2B human capital business.

This is what P&G says about their ManoftheHouse site:

"ManoftheHouse.com is an online property that provides help and advice to men. We're trying to help men adjust to this new role, because dads are now doing things that their dad's didn't do, and our research has indicated that they are looking for help online through content and information."

Interesting. Our own HRmarketer research discovered the same about human resource professionals (they are looking for content to help with their jobs).

The principles are the same in B2B. Your customers and prospects have business challenges that relate to the solutions you provide and they need help and advice (not advertorials).

But again, it isn't cheap - nor is it all you need to do.

Which brings me to the subject of content and integrating social media throughout your traditional marketing tactics.

In other words, if all you do is social media you are not doing enough and it's not going to work.

It all start with content. And once you have a system in place to produce ongoing, non-promotional, credible content on a regular basis that is valued by your business audience you must then have a system to distribute and communicate that content - which includes not only social media (blogs, twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Podcasts) but more TRADITIONAL marketing and PR such as press releases, media relations, direct marketing, webcasts, advertising, tradeshow participation, etc., etc., etc.

To help you get started I recommend some content HRmarketer produced, starting with a webcast tomorrow (Tuesday, July 26th) titled HR B2B marketing is much more than social. Dude - register now.

Some other resources:

- eBook: The Right Mix: A B2B Marketing Allocation Guide
- Podcast: B2B Bite Size Marketing Tips (episode 1 on content)
- eBook: Conversation Starters: Social Media Marketing in the HR Marketplace

Post by HRmarketer CEO Mark Willaman. Join Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.

iTunes/Spotify, Facebook/Google+ and Why Competition Is a Beautiful Thing

Last week I spent a few hours getting to know Google Plus. This week I did the same with Spotify. Both are excellent products and I am thrilled at their arrival. And if you are a loyal Facebook and iTunes customer or use any other social networking or online music service, you too should be thrilled.

Indeed, competition is a beautiful thing.

For competition to truly work - and by work I mean raising the quality and improving the functionality of products throughout a respective category - someone really has to build a better mousetrap. A lot of products have claimed to "compete" or offer alternative solutions to Facebook or iTunes but please, most have been nothing more than knockoff imitations that, well, aren't that good.

But Google+ and Spotify are the real deal (and they did a stellar job at their product launches). And both will positively impact their markets. And consumers will benefit tremendously.

These recent product launches remind us of just how fleeting products, brands, market share and customer loyalty can be. Sorry folks, but it is a misconception that customer loyalty is a lasting, unbreakable bond. So note to marketers via Ray Davies - Be Always on Your Guard. Don't stop innovating and don't stop marketing.

It also reminds us that nobody - not even the most respected industry analysts - can predict what the future may bring.

And that is a beautiful thing - and what gets people like myself out of the bed in the morning.

Nothing inspires product innovation like competition. Trust me, I know first hand how competition can light a flame under one's hind quarters. After our initial success with HRmarketer.com software in the early 2000's we got lazy and enjoyed what seemed like endless revenue streams and profits (make that me - I take full responsibility) . We stopped innovating mainly because nothing pushed us - there was a lack of competition. Wow - what a mistake. As competition started to clean our clock we refocused on product development. And while we have corrected our complacency with a series of software improvements the best is yet to come. We are releasing a series of HRmarketer.com software enhancements and other new products in Q4 and Q1 2012 that I believe will have a significant impact on marketing and PR within the HR and perhaps broader B2B marketplace. None of this would have happened without serious competition in our space. And once released, we will likely inspire others to raise their game. And so the Circle Game goes on and on (sorry, I can't avoid musical analogies - I've been testing Spotify!).

And while we all may hate it when it impacts our company - competition that is - we cannot doubt that in the end, competition is a great thing for our personal and professional growth and the products and services that we develop. And guess who else benefits? The customers, conference/event organizers, media outlets, analysts, consultants, etc., etc. Without competition many are out of work. And all take a pay cut.

This is one of the many reasons I love to work with fellow entrepreneurs and innovators in the human capital marketplace. It is these companies that we all should embrace and thank. For they are the ones who drive innovation and inspire all of to raise our game. Granted, many start-ups and new innovations fail but without them even the big enterprise companies would get old and stale and we as users would enjoy far fewer features.

And this isn't just about the money. Most true entrepreneurs would agree. It's about building great products and never being satisfied with your current offering. And nothing inspires innovation more than other people's cool stuff.

But to innovate only after the competition inspires you to do so is risky business. You must build a culture of innovation and constantly look for ways to break new ground and maintain relevance in your market. A book I am currently reading helps you along this path. It's called The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy - check it out.

At the upcoming HR technology Conference in October there will undoubtedly be major announcements of new products and technologies in the HR marketplace. And to all a thank you in advance for driving innovation in our space (as painful as it may be when we are on the receiving end).

So go ahead. Innovate. And raise the tide for all in the human resources marketplace.

Post by HRmarketer CEO Mark Willaman. Join Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Don't force fit your grandfather's used dress shoes.

I beamed proudly just like my grandfather did when he bought his over three decades ago.

Mine were purchased most recently from Walmart. Running shoes. $14. Thank you very much. I had to buy them because I lost my "real" running shoes while on family vacation recently, and although they were 10 1/2 W, and I didn't need the W, I liked them and the deal and bought them anyway.

My grandfather's were purchased from his church bazaar. Dress shoes. $5. Thank you very much. He had to buy them because he needed new used dress shoes, and although they were actually too small for his feet, he liked them and the deal and bought them anyway.

Reminiscent of Steve Martin's Cruel Shoes, my grandfather beamed proudly every time he wore the shoes no matter how much physical pain he was in. And I remember my mother telling me it was a lot.

And me? I'm an idiot to think that running in cheap running shoes that weren't even the exact fit would be good for me (at least they weren't too small). In fact, the experience was painful and jarring throughout my entire not-so-young-anymore body for all 4.5 miles I ran.

And yes, I ran all 4.5 miles in that pain. It was like running in my grandfather's used dress shoes.

It got me thinking about recent posts from John Sumser and Naomi Bloom about how social technology and HR technology aren't always the right fit for an organization when you're only automating either existing poor processes, or when the manual and/or existing automated processes are fine and don't really need a retrofit, yet.

It's the same thing with the B2B marketing tactics these same companies use to promote their social and HR technologies.

Do you:

• use social media solely as a direct marketing channel?
• use mass email marketing to relationship build?
• record podcasts with only "Drink my Kool Aid" jingles?
• set up your exhibiting booth in malls instead of trade show floors?
• launch flash mobs at tweet-ups? (Hmmm...that would actually be fun.)
• buy HR tech ad space in "Low Rider" magazine?
• send your press releases in response to personal ads?
• Skype video telemarket your prospects early in the morning and late at night?

Mostly tongue in cheek, I know, and maybe you haven’t heard, but the number of marketing tactics has exploded in the past decade.

Ex-plo-ded.

Many are mainstays and many are new. And of course the tactics mix can and will vary whether you're a startup or whether you’re an established company or somewhere in between.

The key is getting the mix right as well as the appropriateness of each tactic. The outcomes and benefits of social media are not the same as direct email, which are not the same as exhibiting at a trade show. The combinations are endless, but the appropriateness of each are not.

Finding the right fit when selling and buying is both a science and an art. Just don't force fit your grandfather's used dress shoes.

Get Your Tweet On

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the demands of social media. I mean, the days were already full, and now we’re supposed to Like, Tweet and Follow, too? Twitter, in particular, is still “new” enough to arouse suspicion and downright distrust. “We tried Twitter, but none of our customers are there.” That’s what one of our clients told us recently. If you’re still skeptical about using Twitter in a B2B context, you’re not alone. But if you don’t start using Twitter (in addition to other social media services), you may end up alone.

Consider these statistics from HubSpot’s report, “100 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts and Graphs”:

- More than ½ of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks.

- 57% of all companies that use social media for business use Twitter.

- B2B companies are far more likely to use Twitter (75%) than B2C companies (49%).

Their statistics show that, for Twitter users, the service plays an active role in purchasing decisions:

“I use Twitter to…”

Learn about products/ services 42%

Provide opinions about products/services 41%

Ask for opinions about products/services 31%

Look for discounts/sales 28%

Purchase products/services 21%

Seek customer support 19%

Here’s a stat that should get your attention: companies that use Twitter average two times more leads per month than those that do not.

Organizations are starting to really grasp the power of Twitter and leverage it in interesting ways. The Economist recently ran a short, fascinating article called “Can Twitter Predict the Future?” that discussed how the analysis of Tweets can reveal trends and other vital data.

“Other researchers have shown that searches for job-related terms are a good predictor of unemployment rates and that mentions of political candidates on Twitter correlate with electoral outcomes.”

One researcher was even able to correlate a rise in anxiety with a dip in stock prices. Researchers at John Hopkins University analyzed Tweets and determined that the allergy season started early this year in certain U.S. regions. What could Twitter analysis of your market segment tell you? What products or services could you innovate based on such data? More to the point, what are you missing by NOT being on Twitter?

The business world has fallen for Twitter—hard. An entire sub-industry has arisen due to its existence. Klout, for instance, is a forward-thinking company whose sole focus is measuring the influence of Twitter users. Their data is so useful to businesses that Virgin America partnered with them recently to offer free flights to “influencers” with high Klout scores, in the hopes of course that those selected would have a good experience and Tweet about it. Other companies, like Dove, Starbucks and Covergirl, offer Klout Perks to people with high scores.

Yes, these are B2C examples, but don’t let that throw you. You also have clients or prospects who want free stuff and who can influence others regarding your brand. The only limitation here is your own imagination.

We are actively practicing what we preach here at HRmarketer. Our inimitable VP of Sales, Rita Jackson, recently used her Twitter account to build buzz and excitement ahead of two conferences, which led to Twitter introductions and conversations. That led to live meetings at the conferences, and at least one sale. You can read her blog post about this here.

We feel so strongly about the value of Twitter that our own HRmarketer software programmers are currently developing an algorithm that will analyze Tweets within the human resource marketplace to identify trends and other vital data. This algorithm is being developed specifically so that HRmarketer.com software customers can leverage Twitter data in their media relations and marketing.

“We tried Twitter, but none of our customers are there.” This may be true for a small sub-set of companies, but it essentially feels to me like someone complaining that they never win the lottery—only to learn that’s because they never actually play the lottery. Similar statements were made by companies in the early 1990s as a reason not to develop a company website – “Why should we have a website if our customers are not going online?” You get to decide whether you want to be a front-runner or an also-ran.

Twitter’s low cost of entry (free!) and ease of use via tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite, coupled with the examples above of how it’s being successfully used, should answer the question at last about whether to finally break down and get that Twitter account. Go get your Tweet on.

Blog Duel: How to Engage Remote Workers - Jennifer's Blog

It all started with a tweet.

@RitaCJackson: RT @BSDperspectives Here's the challenge-how do u engage remote emps http://t.co/ScklruR

@jenniferbrogee: if they're good, u don't have to

@RitaCJackson: @JenniferBrogee Yes some employees thrive as remote workers, but many ARE good but also need engaging, motivating, rewarding .

@JenniferBrogee: @RitaCJackson sounds like a good blog topic!

@RitaCJackson: Dually Blogs posted July 15th. @JenniferBrogee @BSDperspectives Topic - how do u engage remote employees. OK?

Be careful what you tweet for!

Actually, I’m very excited to be a part of my first ever blog duel, on the topic “How to Engage Remote Employees.”

My experience as a remote worker started when I learned I was expecting my first child. I loved my job, but couldn’t imagine leaving an infant for 9-10 hours a day, five days a week. I wanted to be able to spend as much time with my child as possible. So, with trepidation, I broke the news to my boss about my upcoming pregnancy. I asked him if I could please work from home for at least part of the week.

Thankfully, he agreed. As a programmer, almost all of my work was done over the internet, so the transition wouldn’t be difficult. Over the next few months, I spent time getting an additional phone line installed (yes, it was during the era of dial-up internet), finding a work-worthy computer for home, and testing the waters by spending a day or so working from home each week.

When my daughter arrived, I started work within five weeks – two days in the office, three days at home. I was the first and only remote worker for the company for some time.

Since then, I moved into a role overseeing IT at myStaffingPro, and have managed workers with a variety of remote schedules. Based on my experience over the last twelve years, I recommend the following tips for engaging remote workers.

Clearly identify work responsibilities

If the job requires that remote workers are available via instant message for eight hours a day, identify that requirement. If the worker can fit his work into any schedule as long as he gets the job done, then say so. Don’t let requirements go unspoken – lay them all out on the table. Unspoken requirements for remote workers can cause resentment on both sides.

Ask immediate supervisors to communicate often

Ideally, the workers’ immediate supervisors will communicate with their remote employees at least every work day. Just an email to say “Hi, how’s x project going?” helps keep workers feeling plugged in.

Provide needed tools

Don’t skimp on hardware or software needed for remote workers. You’re going to be saving on the electricity they use and the coffee they drink, so you can afford to get them that piece of software that saves a lot of time or makes remote work that much more secure.

Meet once a week

If at all possible, ask remote employees to come into the office for a face to face meeting with colleagues at least once a week. There isn’t really any way to replace the multi-dimensional communications that are made in person.

Brag on their accomplishments

Because remote workers aren’t chatting at the water cooler, co-workers may not know what they are up to. Send out an email, newsletter, or make announcements often about accomplishments made by remote employees.

Don’t treat all remote workers the same

This has to be the most difficult step to take – get to know the strengths and weaknesses of your employees. Some remote workers are highly motivated and arguably more productive when working from home. Other workers need constant monitoring or more structured responsibilities while working remotely. Still other workers can’t handle the freedom. Instead of having a one-size-fit all policy, treat employees like individuals. If it’s not working out, meet with the employee, lay out the requirements and adjust the remote schedule.

Keep an open mind

I attended a seminar by an HR analyst this year about the differences between generations. The Greatest Generation puts loyalty above all, and expects a traditional work experience. Baby Boomers as a group strongly identify with work and want their employees to do the same. Gen X desires a balance between work and family, but will work hard and creatively while working. Millennials embrace the new and innovative, but the lines are blurred between work and play. On one hand, older workers are very reliable, yet may not think out of the box, while the younger generations break boundaries, but may be hard to hang on to. Both groups have strengths that are needed in the workplace. Focus on the strengths, and find a way to manage the weaknesses without making employees into your own image.

In this uncertain economy we want to cling harder to our employees, to monitor them more closely and watch every dime. I think it’s a mistake to hold so tightly that we squeeze the enthusiasm right out of them. A remote work schedule can be a win-win for both employees and organizations, giving employees a greater reason to stay, and providing organizations with a talented workforce, as well as cost and environmental savings. Remote work can be a success if approached creatively, if results are measured and communicated, and if the needs of both sides are met.

Read the other two blogs in the duel:

Bernie Dyme, President & CEO, Perspectives Ltd

Rita Jackson, VP and Team Lead of Sales for HRmarketer

Engaging Remote Workers: The Duel of the Tweeters - Bernie's blog

A few days ago, a number of us began a discussion on Twitter. I am delighted and excited about engaging in this ideafest with @RitaCJackson , VP and Team Lead of Sales for HRmarketer and @JenniferBrogee, Chief Information Officer for myStaffingPro . We all agreed to have duelling blogs today so here is my first one. First of all, the discussion began about a piece in World At Work. The article pointed out that there has been a decrease of 7.5 million teleworkers since 2008. The challenge posed was what can employers do to engage remote workers. It is a tough challenge but one that is critical organizations want to grow and thrive. Even at 26.2 million teleworkers, that comprises 20% of the adult working population so you can see how significant that is. Here are a couple of my thoughts on this to get this discussion started.

1. Bring your technology up to speed. It doesn't need to be too sophisticated or even that expensive. Today, You Tube, on line meetings, Skype, etc. Go beyond the telephone conference calls. Obviously, the key is easy and continuous access to the Internet.

2. Bring your staff up to speed. They have to feel comfortable with the technology so that it is second nature to them like the telephone was for the old folks like me.

3. Create a quality and easy to use intranet. Make it attractive and user friendly. Easy navigation is important as is making sure it is consistent with your brand. In fact, this will have a secondary benefit in that it will familiarize all your employees with your brand.

4. When you have your technology at a working level, you need to COMMUNICATE, consistently and often. This is no different than in the "pre-internet" days. Transparency is critical. Once people know that this is an important way to communicate, leadership needs to use it to let people know what is going on in the organization.

5. Most importantly though is the COMMITTMENT to interactive communications. This is not your grandparents' communication strategy where the founder would give a speech or drop a newsletter to employees informing them of what is going on. The organization must have a strategy of interacting with employees so when they see something and respond, they get a response back. Treat it as if it were a virtual office where they can virtually knock on your door and have a conversation.

Obviously what I have laid out is a perfect world creation. Don't give up. It is okay to begin small and grow into it. The only thing you need to do is develop a short and long term strategy and a gradual plan for evolving into it. AND stay with it. Don't make it the "flavor of the month" which dies when things get rough.

Good luck and remember this is the future.

How do you engage remote workers? Let me count the ways.

Last week, Bernie Dyme CEO of Perspectives, tweeted a question – “How can U engage remote workers?” and it truly hit home for me. So much so that with a retweet began a conversation that included Jennifer Brogee CIO of myStaffingPro. As with other playground situations, this one escalated into words and finally with a challenge of ideas "bring it to a blog" and then came the “Duel”. I want to include all the blogs on HRmarketer Blog for you to read, or just go to: Bernie's Working World Cafe and Jennifer’s myStaffingPro blog.

You see, I am a remote worker and I “Lead” a team that is also remote from me as well as the home office; and I often wonder if I am engaging the team that I am responsible for. I realize that many people say that the simplest way to determine if the employee is engaged is seen in output of work, completion of tasks and accomplishments – but are they happy? Heck! if an employee can do all that without being engaged, imagine what they can do if they were!

I did some research with the members of my team, as well as other remote workers that work at HRmarketer.com (which is about 60% of them) and the overwhelming thing that engages those that I connected with is:

1/ continuous clear and concise communication. OKAY this is so very important with any employee BUT how much more difficult is it if the worker is not physically in the office all the time. How many conversations happen in the lunch-room, or at the water-cooler, or “Hey could you just step in my office for a minute, I need to discuss something with you”. Remote workers miss this, unless there is a consistent effort to do it virtually. How brilliant does Skype look right now – easy, cheap and very good way to just touch base. Of course you can email, text, IM but I have to admit, voice is best.

2/ Feeling like they are part of the BIGGER picture and that their contribution is essential to the common goal – I guess that is communication again, because all of these things have to be articulated, discussed, understood, laid out and always need feedback, Feedback, FEEDBACK. Easy to see if you are in the environment of the office, seeing the energy change when something wonderful happens to move the company to the goals – or even if a roadblock comes up and the team needs to overcome it.

3/ To still feel to be part of the company community and culture. This is so easy for a worker who is at the office all the time – not so much for those remote. So what about weekly team call? Company wide home office visits? Localized visits? Company news streamed through FaceBook, Twitter, or other. We often start our weekly sales/marketing calls with a picture of one of the team members, who just had a baby. Once a week we see Julia grow up!

I have also taken my team members to lunch, bringing them into one location and having an all day strategy meeting in a home and another time, discussing work concerns while getting a pedicure.

4/ Generally, the remote workers that I work with – well, remotely – like it that way. They appreciate the flexibility of working from home, or sometimes the local coffee shop or library, it is the way they “roll”. They do have some valuable strategies and tactics to keep themselves on task and motivated, and I would like to think that my “spidey senses” can still detect when there is something wrong.

The next question for a management team might be: Is it worth it to have remote workers? I would hope that my CEO would say YES absolutely, or I have not performed as well as I think. Let me count the ways:

1/ being able to get the BEST person for the job/position. It opens up the whole hiring window, cross/multiple country, if your company is willing to hire remotely.

2/ offers very strong work/life balance for many people

3/ cost savings many cases

4/ having a team/office close to some priority clients

Interestingly, not one remote worker I connected with indicated that they felt that rewards/incentives would engage them. Hmmmm, let’s see what Jennifer and Bernie says about that!!!

Duel done – and I am spent.

Are you being seen as beloved through your storefront window?

Family vacation has been fun, but it's a lot of work as well with baby and toddler in tow, so it's time to get back to the other work, because the Mama and Daddy can only take so much fun...

Yesterday we were driving back to Portland for our flight home today, and I saw a billboard with a big bee that said:

Bee Seen -- Outdoor Advertising Works

Of course the "buzz" wasn't lost on me and it got me thinking about business brand, both from the employment perspective as well as the buyer perspective.

Being seen is the first stage of brand immersion (visibility), but you also want to be known (thank you Monster) and the lucky few, beloved. How do you get there?

First, let's start with the outdoor advertising. Imagine you're walking down Main Street in Any Town, USA, and then imagine it's the holidays. (I know, it's the middle of July, but just go with it.)

As you're walking down said Main Street with your family, all bundled up and huddled together to stay warm (no, you're not in the Southwest or Florida), take a look at the businesses through their storefronts and you might see one of two scenes.

• A holiday display highlighting store products/services.
• A group of employees setting up a holiday display of store products/services.

Maybe the holiday display is gorgeous, or maybe it's not. Maybe the employees setting it up are happily doing so, or maybe they aren't, or maybe you just can't tell.

The businesses do their best at controlling what you see through their windows, but as we all know today in the 21st century of purposeful and accidental transparency, we see the dust bunnies and the cobwebs and the unhappy customers returning goods and the unhappy employees talking smack.

But it's also your opportunity to share why your customers stay with you as well as your employees, dust bunnies, cobwebs and all.

The Marketing Process Model works the same for all brand marketing: Prepare, Plan, Execute, Measure.

Keep these all in mind:

• Super Customer Service and Lead Nurturing Both Inside and Out
• Social Media Marketing and Monitoring
• Traditional Direct Marketing and Monitoring
• Cross-Marketing to the Business at Large (HR, IT, Operations, Finance, Executive Management)
• Cross-Marketing to Your "Extended Enterprise" (Employees, Customers, Partners, Suppliers/Competitors, Channel and Distributor Networks, Contractors or Volunteers, and More)

Through boom, bubble and bust, we can always use a little authentic holiday cheer.

Look through your own storefront window. Are you being seen as beloved?

(Hey, join us for #TChat tonight where we're going to explore the question Is Employer Brand BS?)

Old and New - Taking the best from both marketing worlds!

Taking a cue from both Mark and Kevin’s recent posts – "When a tchotchkie is a brand damaging piece of junk" and “Social is in the sidebars, not the swag” on this blog, I would like to add my 2 cent’s worth about conferences – and in Canada it is 2.04 cent’s worth.

A couple of the biggest conferences in the space have come and gone, and the big sigh of “ahhh” can be heard across the industry. However, building up to the conferences themselves, all kinds of promotion strategies are discussed around conference tables, and in conference calls all over the country. What outreach strategy do we use? What marketing vehicle to we utilize? How much do we reveal? What do we surprise them with at the conference? How can we get those conversations? What SWAG do you bring? Oh Boy – these are very difficult decisions to make. However MY focus is to meet and introduce "me" to as many new people as possible, and to meet my established clients in person if possible (one of my favourite things to do). Well – it takes some old and some new, we can all be successful at the conference game.

Case in point – the new - I do some Tweeting – or perhaps I would say that I am above average in my Twittering skills and find that what I love to do most is to try to create a “fever pitch” moving into a conference. That is what I did before the WorldAtWork annual Total Rewards conference in May and again for SHRM annual in Las Vegas in June. In the particular case of my story, I was following the hashtag for WorldatWork, and began a couple of online conversations with others who would be there and decided that it would be great to meet. Basically, we introduced ourselves, communicated about various things in the industry, and decided to meet – a true online courtship all in the name of business.

The old – good old actual conversation. There is nothing more telling and satisfying than meeting face to face, discussing all the nuances of the needs and objectives of a prospect, and the full opportunity to even show a Demo at the show. To see the furrowed brows of confusion, the surprised “aha” of clarifying the information and the satisfied smile of someone who totally understands what we discussed. LOVE IT.

And the end result – business. Yes, there is a happy ending to this story- are now working together with SilverSaver and we are privileged to be a strong partner with helping them to gain ground and momentum with their PR and media outreach into voluntary benefits.

When a tchotchke is a brand damaging piece of junk

You wouldn't send a text-based direct email campaign with courier font and a flashing gif would you? So why do some vendors essentially do the same thing with their tradeshow giveaways?

Now that I have officially dug out from SHRM and caught with emails I can get to the really important task of sorting through all the tchotchkes I collected.

There were a few high quality giveaways that I will keep around the office or take home - great for the vendor because they serve as a permanent brand reminder. And isn't that the point of a tchotchke?

But most are junk.

Which begs the question - why do it?

The majority of vendors treat tradeshow giveaways as an after-thought or spend as little as possible just to have something. And I think this is a big mistake. Sometimes you are better off not giving away anything.

What am I referring to?

Wow, where to begin………

There are the pens that weigh less than the paper I'm writing on and would blow away with the slightest bit of wind. Oh, and they don't actually write.

And the eye-glass repair kit combined with a flashlight. Really cool idea except I could not figure out how to open the repair kit and when I finally did, the whole thing broke up into several pieces.

Or the mouse pad that within one day of using it started to peel apart. Useless.

The list of junk goes on an on.

Giveaways are all about branding and generating booth traffic. The point of this blog post is not to tell you what type of giveaway you should use - that creative/strategic decision is an art and there are hundreds of great articles on the Internet that help you with the decision. Like this one.

My point is to caution you against choosing junk.

I believe there are two primary uses of a giveaway at a tradeshow - and yes, I'm aware there is some overlap.

One, to attract people to your booth. For example, an iPad raffle. These giveaways are often used in your pre-show promotions to encourage prospects to visit your booth. A variation of this type of booth attraction giveaway (which do not always merit pre-show promotions) are what I will call "feel good" giveaways. These are not intended to be taken home and kept. These type of "giveaways" offer an immediate benefit or gratification. For example, a chair massage. Another example is food or beverages (if the event permits this). It's hard to mess these giveaways up unless of course the unlicensed massage therapist injures your prospect or someone gets sick from your candy.

At SHRM in Las Vegas where it was 110 degrees and where food and beverage were limited (and expensive) I found great value in vendors who had good munchies or bottled water at their booth. It brought me to their booth and regardless of whether I was a viable prospect it did leave me with a positive feeling about the company/brand (like the WebMD chapstick - a godsend in the dry climate of Nevada). And if just ONE person who otherwise would not have stopped by the booth did so and became a prospect it paid for the entire giveaway program.

But the majority of giveaways (the second type) are not intended to PROACTIVELY bring people to your booth nor be "consumed" on the spot - they are given to people as they leave your booth or casually picked-up by people as they walk by your exhibit space. These are intended to be brought home and kept by your prospects.

And this is where you can really tarnish your brand by having junk.

OK, I'm exaggerating but seriously, put some thought into your next giveaway. And if you are going to have a giveaway spend the extra $1 or $2 unit cost for a quality item.

Otherwise, consider saving some money and do nothing.

Social is in the sidebars, not the swag

For many HR pros and B2B supplier folk, going to conferences and expos is just part of the job. Of course, who goes fluctuates with the economic ebb and flow and whether or not it was worth past returns in education, marketing and business development. (And obviously the world was looking a little bit brighter at SHRM 2011 with over 17,000 attendees and nearly 700 exhibitors and sponsors.)

No surprises that there are four very important activities that take place at conferences & expos:

• Marketing (supplier product/service promotions)
• Learning (keynotes, sessions, etc.)
• Networking (fueling the face-to-face fire)
• Business development (includes sales, although more sales and partnering prep and follow-up than anything).

The first and second are pretty clear: the brand marketing primarily delivers shiny objects and swag to the attendee buyers and influencers (along with some quality messaging and content that sometimes makes it above the din), while the learning is key for attendees, and the primary reason they're sent to conferences, with only the exception of the product/service shopper subset with a shopping list (the folks exhibitors and sponsors salivate).

But the last two, networking and business development, the two that I've lived and breathed for what seems like a long, long time, are the most critical activities for buyers, suppliers and influencers alike. (For a great recent discussion on influence, see John Sumser's recent post Thinking About Influence.)

Prior to conferences, many of us (again, buyers, suppliers and influencers) reach out to colleagues, prospects, partners and new individuals we have yet to meet face to face to schedule sit down meetings, informal sidebars, time permitting, which usually it isn't. But we try nonetheless.

And it's in those sidebars where the true social of business happens -- the connections that lead to friendships, partnerships, jobs, business and sales -- you name it. That's the business development part.

But c'mon, you know me. All things social rock and social media marketing is an important part of your Human Resources B2B marketing plan. Even a little swag is fun to take home to the B-hive.

But there is still a marcom thinness to all things social. Today we're selling to the business at large, and that includes executive management, IT, operations, finance, HR, recruiting, talent management, training, and the list goes on and on.

It's become a much more complex marketing and sales effort than ever before, and there is just as much diversity and complexity with marketing and PR tactics that goes beyond a Tweet or a top 25 list.

So join me for two upcoming webinars titled HR B2B marketing is much more than social. Dude.

Sign up for July 19, 2011 here.

Sign up for July 26, 2011 here.

Right on. These will be mint.

(Cross-posted at Marcom HRsay)