Alberta Business Marketing

Recently I was invited to speak to some marketing students at George Brown College. The topic was about social media and how students could leverage it in their job search as they get ready to embark on their careers.

I don't know about you but it's tough finding a job much less your very first one. The adage we all know comes to mind. 'You can't find a job without experience and you can't find experience without a job.' Furthermore current economic conditions bring another layer of challenge into play. Times are tough and people are suffering.

When I spoke to the class I asked the question of how many of them were on various social networks. "Facebook?" "Twitter?" "YouTube?" Pretty much 100% of hands went up each time. When I asked about LinkedIn about 50% of hands went up. When I asked how many of them completed their profiles 100% on LinkedIn about only a third of hands had not fallen.

That surprised me. If you were a student looking to find a job in marketing - how could you not be on LinkedIn? It is free to use. If I was a hiring manager on the client side or agency side, I'd be questioning your capabilities. I'd expect someone graduating with a post-secondary education to be on LinkedIn. I told the students that many in my network share the same philosophy.

But my post is not to criticize George Brown College or the students there. On the contrary, I'm very impressed with the work that institution is doing to get its students prepared for the working world. Whether it be mentorship sessions or adding 'non-traditional' taught classroom skills to the curriculum that are required in today's business world. The students were very engaged and kept me back for more questions over 30 minutes after I got off my soapbox. The best part? Many of them created or updated their LinkedIn profiles afterwards. (Below is a copy of the presentation.)

This brings me to you the reader. Students may not know any better. They might figure it won't be a problem finding a job when they graduate. (I know I did.) Unfortunately there are many professionals out there in marketing, advertising, finance, accounting, operations, logistics, technology, administration and legal that are not on LinkedIn. Or they have a lousy profile completed. It totally blows my mind.

Cynics will say that LinkedIn is only beneficial to marketing, sales and 'tech' people. But if it can work for financial advisors then what is your reason not to have a profile? Some argue that LinkedIn is like other online network sites that sprout up every day and then fall by the wayside. Indeed, but how many of them have over 3 million Canadian members alone or an IPO planned?

I once recall a senior executive telling me LinkedIn was a waste. He had better things to do with his time. He didn't need to get spammed with invites. A year later there was a corporate restructuring and that executive was unemployed. Having a LinkedIn profile was suddenly no longer such a waste of time. That same executive now swears by it and is gainfully employed elsewhere. Care to guess how he found his new job?

Now I'm not on the LinkedIn payroll but I know and respect a few people who work there. The quality of a team often speaks to an organization's products and services. Most importantly I believe in the product. LinkedIn has done me a world of good over the past 6 years. How so?

1. Google my name 'Sulemaan'. On regular text results it's fine. Now Google my name 'Sulemaan' under images. Stop laughing. No I'm not related to the OctoMom. It's not that funny.

My point being that you don't know what comes up when people type in your name into a search engine. And make no mistake they do type in your name into search engines. By having a properly completed LinkedIn profile it puts your best foot forward. Usually one of the first search results that appears are either LinkedIn, Facebook and/or Twitter. (Also your blog or personal website.) If you don't believe in the importance of 'personal branding' let my Octomom experience be an example to you.

2. The average tenure in a CMO position is roughly 23 months. People change careers more frequently and it's hard to keep track. I received an email from LinkedIn in January advising that 25% of contacts in my network changed their job title in 2010. Twenty-five percent. Think about that figure for a second. LinkedIn becomes an updated online rolodex where you can keep in touch and stay up to date on the comings and goings of your network.

3. The whole concept of 6 degrees of separation comes into play. You may not know someone at company X or someone with specific skills (i.e. ability to write marketing copy in mandarin for search engine ads) but someone in your network probably does. Or they know someone who who knows someone that does. LinkedIn helps you find them. Do you know of a better way to quickly meet someone in targeted manner via a personal referral?

4. If you're going for a business pitch or interview you can leverage LinkedIn to give you information on the company and who you are meeting. You no longer have an excuse not to do your homework ahead of time. If you want to go about doing 'homework' discreetly on LinkedIn as one friend recently recounted then remember to turn off profile views & network update in your privacy settings while you research others on LinkedIn. Once completed – turn it back on.

5. Paying it forward by using LinkedIn. By helping others in need, be it those looking for work, searching for top notch candidates or facilitating introductions that create solid business partnerships/friendships you become a mensch. Guy Kawasaki describes the term as follows: "Mensch is the Yiddish term for someone who is ethical, decent and admirable. It is the highest form of praise one can receive from others whose opinions matter." Be a Mensch.

So if students have absolutely no excuse not to be on LinkedIn with a properly completed profile - what about you as a business professional? Are you in? Otherwise you are definitely out.

Tags: Branding, Digital, Human Resources, Marketing Talent, social media, This and That
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Now despite the whole outrage over UBB in Canada, there are some other major issues occurring in the globe. As one friend aptly referred to our our hyper focus on UBB as a 1st world problem (i.e. our Internet costs potentially going up versus being cut off completely from the Internet in a show of repression).

The situation in Egypt is similar to other past pivotal events in the globe such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall and Tianamen Square. What makes it more compelling is the contributory role that Social media networks play such as Twitter, YouTube, YFrog and Facebook. No filters. No talking heads. Raw footage.

So of course a major brand - Kenneth Cole - tries to make light of the situation.

Brilliant. No less stunning is that this tweet came from Kenneth Cole himself. A compelling case could be made to file this under "What were they thinking?" And before you can say 'brandstorm' a fake Kenneth Cole PR twitter account was up and running within hours with well over 5 thousand followers. This is especially poignant as the normal Kenneth Cole twitter account has 9 thousand followers.

Now some could say Kenneth Cole was just having fun. Unfortunately the situation in Egypt is serious and is affecting many so this strikes close to home. Sure another clothing retailer tried to elicit controversy in the past but that doesn't make it right.

Candidly, I was also bothered by this tweet as l really like the Kenneth Cole brand. The number of shoes in my closet will attest to that. Talk about a classic case of bad PR or negative brand marketing creating cognitive dissonance.

Now to Kenneth Cole's credit he did apologize via Twitter a few hours after the controversy erupted. He also wrote a longer apology on Facebook where people are freely able to comment and call him some pretty nasty things in response. Check out the 1st reply.

It's also worth noting Kenneth Cole could have easily thrown some intern in front of the the bus but he stepped up to the plate and took accountability. Not to mention he's engaging social media where many senior executives won't touch it with a ten foot pole. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this debacle gave those naysayers more ammunition not to engage in social media.

We could all join the mob, grab our torches and pitchforks and march down to the local Kenneth Cole outlet to protest. I won't be doing that. Why? Not because I love his shoes but because I look at myself.

How many of have said something and immediately regretted it afterwards? Be it personally or in some kind of advertising campaign? Exactly. The only difference is that we are not leaders of a major clothing retailer where everything we say is highly scrutinized. Does that make what Mr. Cole did, right? Absolutely not but he did apologize. How many executives would have the temerity to do even that?

The only thing I might humbly suggest is that Kenneth Cole donate some of the significant resources (financial or otherwise) at his disposal to support the destitute in Egypt. They need it now more than ever. Perhaps a percentage of the online profits from the aforementioned 'Spring Collection' could go towards it? Or he could leverage the significant media at his disposal to create greater awareness of what is transpiring across the ocean in Egypt? As the Chief Creative Officer I'm sure he'll find a creative way to do something. Especially as he states in his Facebook apology "I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues."

Something creative that has an impact (beyond an apology) is a good next step in removing Kenneth Coles from the mouth. If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.

Sulemaan Ahmed

Tags: Branding, Digital, Get it off your chest, social media, This and That
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As we've now entered 2011 there have been many prognostications about marketing, digital marketing, mobile marketing, advertising and social media. Top 10 lists and other crystal-ball types of foreshadowing. I'm not making any bold predictions because I pretty much suck at gambling. I'm the guy who always loses in hockey pools. You will never confuse me with Nostradameus or Jo-Jo Savard.

What I can tell you is that I do see one major change happening. It was recently reported Facebook overtook Google as the most visited website in 2010. Now that may not be earth-shattering news when Facebook has enough members to be considered the 3rd largest country in the world. But that is something worth noting as a marketer on the client or agency side. Why?

Over the years no one can debate the importance of Google to marketers. Both in terms of natural search and/or paid search. As a marketer you better have Google in your toolbox or at least ask yourself 'Why should we consider this?'. Why? Well statistics like this are one reason. The same applies for Facebook as well.

But I think a fundamental shift between these 'kings' is also taking place. It used to be that Google was the default setting for when you were researching for something online. The great Oracle (aka Google) would give you the answer in an unbiased manner. (At least as it relates to natural search results.)

That still remains the case however I've started to look at my own personal online behaviour. My default action was that I'd go to Google when researching a potential product/service and that would have a heavy influence on my purchasing decisions. That is no longer the case.

I now check another source. No, not Bing but my network. How do I do that? I'll put a question out on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and ask my network of contacts. I'm a big believer in the wisdom of crowds philosophy, especially when those crowds are made up friends and others whose opinions I greatly admire and respect.

Case in point - when we were researching for kitchen appliances for our new home, I tweeted the question about 'Best kitchen appliances to get for my new home?' or 'North American dishwasher or German?' and I got a ton of great feedback. Which was better, pros/cons, best deals to negotiate, best companies to purchase from, pratfalls and the list went on. And because the replies came from friends based on their own experiences, that carried much more weight in my books than potential Google results regardless of which fancy-schmany algorithm is used on the back end.

Now 'm not as naive as to suggest that Google is going immediately downhill in terms of search importance but I believe that 'referral search' is an important factor to consider. Maybe this is why Google has already started to integrate real-time social media into search results?

Naturally, I don't think this is the sole reason that Facebook has taken over the pole position as #1 visited site but it must be a consideration. How many people ask questions in their status updates on social networks and get replies from connections? Why ask Google when I can ask Georgette, Greg and Graham via Facebook?

Perhaps the King isn't quite dead but I wouldn't bet against another coronation in the future. That is at least one prediction I'm willing to make.

Sulemaan Ahmed

Tags: Digital, social media, This and That
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Rob Ford's campaign to become mayor of Toronto took top marks in the just released Communications Year in Review – Report Card on Toronto’s Top Newsmakers of 2010 by the Toronto Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). The Report Card evaluated four of Toronto's top news stories and graded them based on the effectiveness of their communications efforts.

See report card here.
As you will see, Ford's campaign was evaluated against three other major Toronto news stories of 2010; 2010 G20 Summit, the TTC sleeping fare collector, and Adam Giambrone’s mayoral campaign and sex scandal. Each of these campaigns are full of examples of effective and ineffective communications methods, all of which business leaders can learn from in setting priorities for their communications efforts in 2011.

IABC thought that Ford's well focused, passionate campaign was an impressive communications effort, which led to a favourable result.

This is IABC's first report card. The lessons learned by these top newsmakers in 2010 can act to remind business leaders and communications professionals of the importance of good, consistent, direct, transparent communications on the outcome of their campaigns in 2011.

Scott Fry, Director, Marketing Communications, IABC

Tags: This and That
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Do you remember the days when innovation was a big part of most major companies? You think about 3M, Xerox, IBM, GE, Disney as leaders in that field whether it applied to products, services and/or marketing.

Today when I think of innovation I think about companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and others. Yes, it just happens to be coincidence they are all on the Fast Company Top 50 Innovation list also.

But I wondered why many other large scale companies don't have such an emphasis on innovation anymore. You hear about lots of companies that "value innovation" and want to "be innovative". I can't recall how many times my friends told me the CEOs of their companies boldly proclaim to their staff "We need to be like Apple" during employee meetings.

Recently at an alumni reception from my alma matter, I chatted with a venture capitalist and it was her view that companies no longer invest in innovation because of cost. Plain and simple. Due to short-term financial pressure, organizations focus on quarterly results, therefore they can no longer "afford the luxury of internal innovation". She further stated "It would be naive to think shareholders would not freak out if guys in white lab coats were allowed to run around concocting ideas that didn't generate immediate ROI". It was her view that larger corporations perceived acquiring start-ups (and the innovations they bring) much more cost-effective than to build them in-house.

She pointed to the example of Google despite its own roots as a start-up as they now have acquired many firms over the years.

But what about here in Canada? Last time I checked Google was based in Mountain View. Indeed it appears large corporations in Canada are also acquiring smaller companies from a strategic perspective and have been doing so for quite some time. Whether it be Torstar or Transcontinental. So the trend certainly doesn't appear to be declining. However one could argue that some corporations are looking further towards the long term such as the case of Rogers Ventures which specializes in investing in technology start-ups right here in Canada.

So what does this all have to do with marketers? In Business Week a few years ago it was proposed that marketers bear some responsibility for this trend of lack of successful innovation in companies. Marketers you ask? Yes. The premise is based on three criteria.

(1) Successful innovations need more than a great idea. Indeed great ideas are a dime a dozen but execution is what really matters. Too many marketers only view their job as coming up with the idea. The execution rests with someone else be it in production, IT, distribution and/or sales. The biggest reason for this? Plausible deniability. If the concept fails marketers can point the finger at someone else.

(2) A lack of talent. Some people are great at generating ideas. Others are great at the execution of them. Very rarely are there enough people within large corporations that are talented at both. Or they are not being brought together at the right time to achieve a common goal.

(3) Fatalism. Marketers go into new initiatives (half-heartedly) expecting it to fail. So when they do there is no major surprise. Then the finger gets pointed at the executive suite for lack of support, resources or other departments for creating roadblocks or fighting over turf.

I'm not sure I totally agree entirely with all of these criteria but it certainly gives one pause as a marketer. In my experience the challenge for marketers/innovators is that it's harder in a larger corporate environment than a start-up one to be innovative - unless there is a specific culture that fosters and embraces innovation. One where employees are encouraged to contribute new ideas but are also recognized for them via both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators.

Lastly, it becomes important that an over-emphasis on short-term performance is not at the expense of long-term success. Perhaps then we just might see more colleagues at large companies wearing white lab coats again.

Sulemaan Ahmed

Tags: Get it off your chest, Integration, Research, Strategy, technology, This and That
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