Engagement as a Universal Constant

How familiar are statements like these?

“Gee I really wish such-and-such would just engage.”

“Be engaged in order to be successful in social media.”

“Social media is different than marketing because it’s about engagement.”

“We really want to engage our community.”

All fair statements, through their own lenses.

But the trick is that the definition of engagement is in the eye of the beholder. What you perceive as an “engaged” customer might not suit their definition at all. And the limited online periscope through which you view someone’s behavior (and consequently judge it) may not be all-encompassing.

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Audio from the small group meeting with Seth Godin in Manhattan

This is an incredible age of opportunity. We have the power and tools to make and connect with friends around the world who can truly make stuff happen. It would take a long time to catalog all the good stuff flowing my way just THIS month (London, Paris, New York, Orlando, etc.)…one highlight was a day spent in a private session with Seth Godin on his home turf in Manhattan.

About 60 of us gathered to listen. Imagine our wonder and awe when we realized SETH was there to listen, too! Officially, no video cameras were allowed. Unofficially, he allowed me to video tape him, with the proviso that I not publish it. Later during our time together, I questioned him on his “don’t share” policy, but that’s a long post for another time. (To get you primed for THAT post, please check out 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Search for “abundance mentality” and ponder the implications of Covey’s registered trademark of the phrase.)

Even though I can’t share the video with you, I CAN share this audio file of the event. I have Seth’s explicit permission to host and share the MP3 file. I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy it.

Dear CMOs, Wake up to Social Media challenge

In my previous post titled What is Social CRM and why it is important, I have highlighted the phenomenal growth in number of Social Media users and importance of engaging customers through Social Media for building trust and brand loyalty.

Given statistically significant correlation between social media engagement and financial performance metrics – revenue and profit, one would expect CMOs to be busy making elaborate plans about engaging customers through Social Media, Right? WRONG!

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