• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Jeff Hester

Poking around the intersection of KM and Social Media

  • About Jeff Hester
  • Collaboration
  • Social
  • Archives
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest

Brian Solis is MUCH Taller Online

February 23, 2012 by Jeff Hester 34 Comments

Author and analyst Brian Solis was in Orange County yesterday, speaking about The End of Business As Usual, how the consumer marketplace is changing, and how you can adapt the way you work to lead in this new marketplace.

Let me just get this out-of-the-way: Brian Solis is indeed much taller online. It’s fair to say that he is not tall. Which is perfectly fine, although it really would have been helpful in the large ballroom where he spoke if he were on a stage. Seriously.

What he lacks is physical stature he more than makes up for with his message and his passionate delivery. Solis is a life-long student, and social media has been his passion. He dove into a deep research of sentiment analysis–what he calls the interest graph–on Starbucks just because it was interesting. And as it turns out, it was (and is).

An Experiment in Crowd-sourced Note-Taking

During Solis’ talk, I monitored the back channel on Twitter. I tweeted key points and notes, and pulled out a few of the choice tweets from others in the audience to create the following overview.

The Consumer Market is Not One Audience

deborah_gibbsDeborah Anne Gibbs – @deborah_gibbs
Types of consumers: 1 traditional, 2 digital, 3 connected (#mobile + #socialmedia) #OC @briansolis

Too many companies using social media “channels” (Facebook, Twitter, Google+ et. al.) consider it a means of reaching The Audience. The fallacy is that there is no single audience. There are multiple demographics. Different kinds of consumers. If you’re trying to get people to buy a product, you have at least three kinds of consumers: The Traditional, The Digital, and–most recently–The Connected. Each group has different needs and expectations. Don’t treat them as one, or you’ll put off at least two and maybe all of them.

Social Media is Not a Digital Broadcast Medium

jcorseyJenny Corsey, APR – @jcorsey
Reach the people that will help you reach your customer. Speak to and through people to share your message. @briansolis #LinkedOC #OC

It wasn’t long ago that speakers would ask the audience to turn off their cell phones and put away their computers. To be “fiddling” with a cell phone was considered rude to the speaker. Of course, today savvy speakers know that if you can reach the connectors, you have people who will willingly spread your message.

Don’t Be Medium-alistic

mgallizziMatthew Gallizzi – @mgallizzi
Why should people follow you? What value do you bring? #foodforthought #linkedoc #oc

DigitalLADigital LA – @DigitalLA
Don’t be Medium’-alistic – designing for the technology medium instead of the purpose and human need #OC

Don’t design to the medium. Think about the people you want to connect with. What do they want from you? What can you offer that will make their interaction with you — whatever the channel — a positive and mutually beneficial experience?

BrandonSkaarBrandon Skaar – @BrandonSkaar
@briansolis Chief Experience Officer the new CEO #oc

There were a few great examples Brian shared of companies that are innovating and creating new experiences for the connected consumer:

  • BetterWorks leverages game mechanics to provide perks and rewards for employees — a very clever model that progressive HR groups should be looking closely at.
  • GiantNerd is a sports and outdoor equipment retailer that rewards it’s customers for helping other customers. In the process, they’ve created rabid fans and turned customers into a peer support network that outshines traditional customer support.
  • ShopKick is an iPhone app that uses geo-location to let you earn rewards from local retailers that you would use anyway. And it’s approaching the sort of frictionless participation model touted by Mark Zuckerberg at F8.

If there was but one key take-away from Brian’s talk, it was to start with the end in mind.

What do you want to accomplish?

The key message Solis made is that most companies (and probably a lot of people) are not asking–and answering–the right question when down to the WHY they are using social media.

AndreaMemenasAndrea Memenas – @AndreaMemenas
“Presence is not a strategy.” – @briansolis #oc

Prior to the launch of Google+ business pages, a big company called Solis to ask when they were going live.

“Why do you care?”
“Because, we need to be ready and have a strategy for Google+ and create a page.”
“Why do you need that?”
“Because all our competitors will be there.”
“So? Why do YOU need to be on Google+? Why are you there? More importantly, why are your customers there, and how do they want to interact with you there? What can you do to make them smile?”

Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or whatever rolls down the interweb tomorrow is not enough.

DevineLinesMitch Devine – @DevineLines
“What is the Meaning of Like?” via @briansolis #oc http://t.co/nsc6m5dv

And collecting friends, likes, +1s or any of the other new social verbs should not be your objective.

Consider Facebook Analytics. They are not, in spite of what Facebook might lead you to believe, a measure of success. Facebook analytics can only measure activity (and only those activities that Facebook values). Facebook can tell you how many “likes” you received, and comments, and other metrics of activity. But none of this captures value or even tells you if what you are doing online is driving success.

CarterKrisKris Carter – @CarterKris
Social analytics – what is the real end result you are seeking? Measure that instead. FB engagement can= absolutely nothing @briansolis #OC

ellenlynnEllen Henderson – @ellenlynn
Although the crowd isn’t always wise, there is wisdom in whatever it is you find. You learn more anytime you study people. @briansolis #oc

There is value in metrics. But automated reports only go so far. Real wisdom comes from actually reading tweets rather than just analyzing them (especially when analysis by software alone).

eperryeperry – @eperry
What are you designing for and what do you want people to walk away with? @briansolis #linkedOC #OC

The question to ask when thinking about any form or channel for social media is this: What is it you want to achieve? When you’ve sorted out your strategy, then you can look at the market, the different kinds of consumers, the various channels and develop a strategy that incorporates everything to help you reach those goals.

Are You a Change Agent?

EmilyQuestionsEmily Crume – @EmilyQuestions
Are you a Change Agent? It takes courage + it takes vision says @briansolis #oc @LinkedOC

AAAReneeRenée Barrett – @AAARenee
“Do your employees have a #vision & #mission? If not, don’t put them in charge of #Social #Media?” #OC #SM #Enthusiasm

You’ve done your homework. You’ve thought long and hard about your strategic business goals and devised a strategy to connect and communicate with your customer using a range of social and other means. You have asked your customer what they need and want, and are prepared to deliver. Who do you have in the driver’s seat?

Today, you need to be a change agent, willing to take risks, and even willing to quit if the company isn’t willing to make the right changes. That takes balls.

Final Notes

I really enjoyed Brian’s talk, and look forward to reading his new book this weekend. He’s a terrific speaker, and refreshingly hype-free — a rare treat in social media circles. If you get a chance to hear him speak, go!

The event was organized by Bryan Elliott, of Linked Orange County. He does a great job of getting some excellent speakers to Orange County on a monthly basis. If you haven’t joined the group (it’s free), check it out.

This post was curated by Dashter, a wonderful tool for curating tweets within WordPress.

Oh, and as for the “taller online” bit, that was Solis’ own self-deprecating humor.

Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: Enthusiasm, foodforthought, LinkedOC, Media, mission, mobile, OC, SM, Social, socialmedia, vision

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mitch Devine says

    February 23, 2012 at 11:13 pm

    Jeff, you summarized Brian’s presentation beautifully. It was a lot to take in! Brilliant use of his offhand comment for the headline, too. (Yeah, a stage would’ve helped!) I’m honored to have one of my tweets included in your posts. Too bad I missed seeing you there!

    Reply
    • Jeff Hester says

      February 23, 2012 at 11:25 pm

      Thanks, Mitch! There were a lot of familiar faces in the audience… too many to name. I’m sure our paths will cross again, maybe at SMMOC or Dot-com Pho?

      Reply
  2. twitter_AndreaMemenas says

    February 24, 2012 at 6:20 am

    I couldn’t agree with you more about the stage! I could barely see Brian. Thanks, Jeff, for including my tweet. Very tweet of you. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Joan Ganter says

    February 24, 2012 at 11:46 am

    Great summary of a fantastic talk. I loved the format you used. Thanks for this outstanding presentation!

    Reply
  4. twitter_3rhinomedia says

    February 27, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    This is a fantastic summary Jeff. Love the breadth and depth. And thanks for the link to both Dashter and Brian’s sentiment analysis article. Very useful!

    Reply
  5. 3rhinomedia says

    February 27, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    This is a fantastic summary Jeff. Love the breadth and depth. And thanks for the link to both Dashter and Brian’s sentiment analysis article. Very useful!

    Reply
  6. Sally K Witt, Social Media and Ministry says

    February 29, 2012 at 8:25 pm

    Always a pleasure to read your stuff Jeff!

    Reply
  7. facebook_deckerling says

    March 1, 2012 at 12:50 am

    Thanks for the awesome recap, Jeff. Great info. Plus, so many people forget that to be in social media, you have to be out – and be social – IRL, as well as virtually.

    Reply
  8. twitter_sbeasla says

    March 1, 2012 at 7:13 am

    Sad to have missed this event. Brian Solis seems to be an engaging speaker. Hopefully I’ll catch one of these events soon 🙂

    Great recap!

    Reply
  9. Denise Sonnenberg says

    March 1, 2012 at 7:17 pm

    Wow Thanks Jeff. I was caught up in tax prep that day and a web site design and couldn’t get away. Great recap. Interesting to see you used Dashter for this. I like it!

    Reply
  10. twitter_IngeniousTravel says

    March 1, 2012 at 7:45 pm

    Brian was great. I’m glad I had the opportunity to come down from LA to hear him even though my drive ended up being 2.5 hours from LA. Great Summary Jeff.

    Reply
  11. twitter_momzilla54 says

    March 1, 2012 at 8:43 pm

    I really enjoyed this – thanks for the great summary for those of us who couldn’t be there. Meanwhile, I am going to check out your tweet curating tool. I loved what you did with that!

    Reply
  12. Gina Carr says

    March 2, 2012 at 4:24 am

    Fascinating article and very thought provoking. I love the way you used Dashter to present these tweets from others. Simply brilliant!

    I am going to use this as a guide to reconsider strategy and objectives for myself and my coaching clients. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Jeff Hester says

      March 6, 2012 at 9:46 am

      Thanks, Gina! Dashter is pretty slick. If you have a self-hosted WordPress site (not wordpress.com) and use Twitter, it’s a great way to curate content and worked really well for a sort of crowd-sourced note taking. Check it out at http://www.dashter.com

      Reply
  13. Steve Hughes says

    March 3, 2012 at 7:40 pm

    You put this together really well Jeff, and I can’t believe you’re a Grandfather. The story remains the same. Until a positive ROI can be realized and proven, most of corporate will stay on the edge and jump into the game. I like the Giant Nerd mention, and definitely want to take a deeper dive learning about their process. Rewarding customers for helping customers sounds like a model that is working well for everyone involved. Serious, a Grandfather? No way.

    Reply
    • Jeff Hester says

      March 6, 2012 at 9:44 am

      Thanks for the kind words, Steve! Yes, I’ve got two grand-kids so far, a boy and a girl. And yes, whether you’re talking social media or social computing and collaboration tools, to get real value from them you need to really do the hard work and think through what you want to achieve.

      I like to encourage people to define SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Copyright © 2022 · Frost on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...