The Marketing Diner

MD Episode #3.5: Location-Based Social Networking – Fad or Future?

Jared Degnan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:39:12 +0000

Alison and Jared explore the pros and cons of location-based social networks and the impact they could have on your dating life.

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Download audio file (MD06282009.mp3)

To respond, leave us a comment on the show notes or click here to email us!

Referenced Links:

Brightkite – “people. places. friends.”
- Friend Jared on Brightkite
- Friend Alison on Brightkite
Loopt – “Your Social Compas”
- Friend Jared on Loopt
- Friend Alison on Loopt
Location-Based Social Networking to Generate $3.3 Billion by 2013? (ReadWriteWeb)

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MD Episode #3.4 – Three Twits On A Podcast

Jared Degnan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:36:22 +0000

Who’s doing Twitter right, who’s screwing it up and what can marketers do to sell its benefits to consumers and executives? Matt Mikulla, SEO and Interactive Content Expert joins Alison and Jared for a round table debate.

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Download audio file (MD06232009.mp3)

To respond, leave us a comment on the show notes or click here to email us!

Referenced Links:

@ravenmatt – Matt’s Twitter
@alisongroves – Alison’s Twitter
@marketingdiner – Jared’s Twitter
Tweet My Customer – Find Out If Your Favorite Company’s On Twitter
Twitter characters by Liam McKay & Rusu Eusebiu

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MD Episode #3.3: Geeks, Rednecks and Vanity URLs

Jared Degnan — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:10:35 +0000

Who’s the biggest geek in the land? Our very own Alison Groves, or so she hopes! Join in the debate as we discuss CMAfest, Facebook Vanity URLs and more!

To respond, leave us a comment on the show notes or click here to email us!

Referenced Links:

Vote Alison: Biggest Geek In Nashville – VOTE NOW!!!

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Why Social Media Burnout Can Be A Good Thing

Jared Degnan — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:20:22 +0000

Back when I was an undergrad, I spent several summers working in restaurants. Though I loved to cook for others, after a long day I couldn’t stand the thought of cooking for myself.

Many of us find ourselves in the same situation if our jobs involve social media. With all this talk about the in and outs of the medium, combined with the endless supply of chatter about “echo chamber” – it’s not surprising we find ourselves with a queasy feeling when logging onto facebook or twitter.

The funny thing about my experiences in restaurants however, was that it kept me incredibly attuned to the details and subtleties in the food when I visited other restaurants. I could pick up on whether the chef had his entire heart in the meal or if the sous-chef was having a bad day. Every detail of the experience was heightened – just by refusing to cook for myself.

Many of us believe that because we are professionals in the social media space, we have to be active there both at work and at home. We think that somehow being uber-connected 24/7 will help us do our jobs better. The reality however is that it won’t.

Like any good thing; too much social media can numb us to the subtleties of the medium and kill our ability to enjoy what we do. Because we’re so close into it all the time, my advice is next time you feel like you’re about to burn out – embrace it!

Take the hint your instincts are giving you and let yourself unplug for a while.

I’m not talking about not checking email or locking your laptop in the closet. I’m talking about taking a break from needing to be completely inside the dialogue for every conversation. Even if you think you have to stay involved in the conversation to maintain your sense of status; realize that taking a step back and listening can perhaps be the best thing you can do for yourself.

Remember – we can’t always be cooks in the same kitchen but that doesn’t mean we can’t all take time to enjoy the meal.

MD Episode #3.2: MBA Oaths, Politics and Social Media, Power Moms

Jared Degnan — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:28:31 +0000

As we cruise into June, Alison and Jared take on Hubris in MBAs, the changing face of social media in the political arena and the new role of power moms on the internet.

To respond, leave us a comment on the show notes or click here to email us!

Referenced Links:

NY Times – A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immorality
Loïc Le Meur blog – Cory Visits and the Social Networking Execs Line Up
Tech Crunch – Prepare For The Facebook Vanity URL Landrush
Just A Mom’s Take On Things – Review and Giveaway: Frito-Lay Woman’s World Snack Pack
Ning Community Manager Forum – http://www.ningcommunitymanager.com/

Listen To Episode:

Download audio file (MD06012009.mp3)

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MD Episode #3.1: Third Time’s A Charm?

Jared Degnan — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:59:59 +0000

Alison Groves joins the diner as the third, and latest diner co-host. Let’s see is she sticks as we parse “shiny object” syndrome, accidental branding in social media, fitting objectives to tactics and more!

To respond, leave us a comment on the show notes or click here to email us!

Referenced Links:

BRANDStoming – Which Social Media Entity Will Still Be In Existence In 10 Years?
NY Times – How Adam Lambert didn’t win American Idol – anatomy of Kris Allen’s surprising win
Guardian UK – Wolfram Alpha: the semantic web search starts to take shape
Brandweek – Japanese Critter Domo Attacks 7-Eleven
Econsultancy – Ironic user reviews boost t-shirt sales by 2,300%

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BRANDstorming: Which Social Media Entity Will Still Exist In 10 Years?

Jared Degnan — Mon, 25 May 2009 21:11:50 +0000

Time for another great BRANDstorming question!

Answer the poll, put your rationale in the comments section of this post and we’ll select one lucky winner who will receive an awesome prize on next week’s show!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Remember, you must put your real email in when you post your comment to qualify for this week’s prize!

Why Great Social Media Managers Are Also Great Upward Managers

Jared Degnan — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:13:45 +0000

What’s really fascinating to me about marketing innovation is how much it relies on a certain amount of creative tension. Similarly in upward management, the art of creating a balance between your goals and your boss’ goals, a similar amount of tension is also required.

Let’s be clear; by tension, I mean the pull between competing ideas, competing business objectives, or even between two personalities. What I don’t mean is conflict for the sake of conflict.

For instance, in an organization new to social media, it’s not unusual to see the role of “social media manager” protected by upper management or set aside as a pet project, largely untouched by other departments. However, as we see social media becoming more prevalent in job titles, our roles are going to depend more and more on our ability to manage the same political pressures placed on everyone else.

In fact, it is in that shift that we are going to see the separation between the good and the great social media marketers.

Lately, I’ve been focused a lot on what it takes to be effective in this space and found it fundamentally comes down to three things, inspired from Lonnie Pacelli ’s landmark “Thirteen Tips to Effective Upward Management {PDF}:”

1) Figure Out What Drives The People Above You

The quickest way to push a social media agenda forward is to frame in terms of things your superiors want to accomplish. Stability, advancement, notoriety; there has to be something each individual manager wants more than anything else. Show how a social media success can help them achieve that goal and that’s how you get align your objectives.

2) Partner With Your Boss

The worst pattern you can fall into with upward management is thinking in an “us” vs. “them” mentality. Sure, the people above you may not get social media like you do but that doesn’t mean they’re against you. Forward links, clip articles, engage in small talk; do anything you can do to open the door to a conversation. Ultimaley, having your boss with you in exploring social media is a lot better than leaving them in the dust. In other terms; dance with the one that brought you.

3) Develop An Effective Communications Plan To Promote Your Findings

As interest in social media grows around your office, take a page from Peter Gloor and Scott Cooper’s book, Cool Hunting: gain power by giving it away {PDF}. Realize that as the social media manager your first priority should be to spread your knowledge around. This means both promoting things that you discover along with knowing when to forward your findings upward with the we designation (see above – partnering with your boss).

The stakes are getting higher across the board in marketing and many of us have to determine how we want to compete going forward. To add to the pressures, as managers of a new and emerging medium, we are now some of the lowest “subject matter experts” to ever emerge on the totem pole.

We must realize we are not only responsible for our ideas but also for their successful adoption and implementation. In order to do that, we must take ownership of our upward relationships and not be afraid to engage them like we do our own medium.

MD Single Cup – Duality In The Art Of The Possible

Jared Degnan — Sun, 10 May 2009 23:50:22 +0000

Commentary on the shift that occurs in your handling of innovation from what’s possible to what’s probable.

To respond, send us an e-mail.

Referenced Links:

Tennessean Article – Twittering During Graduation (Jared Featured/Quoted)
WSJ Article – Job Earning Prospects When Graduating During A Reccession
Vanderbilt Commencement Flickr Set

Listen To Episode:

Download audio file (MD_05102009.mp3)

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Is The Class of 2009 Doomed?

Jared Degnan — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:46:40 +0000

Just about the time my classmates and I were walking across the stage to receive our diplomas, the Wall Street Journal was already condemning us to a disappointing life of under-achievement.

Their article, “The Curse of the Class of 2009” details a Yale business school study on the annual earnings of graduates during a recession versus times of prosperity. In addition to stating the obvious – that our class may earn 8% less in our first year, on average – the study also finds that the lag may continue 20 years past our date of graduation.

Though the study does set out solid historical precedent, I couldn’t help but be slightly offended by it’s implications.

Yes, we are graduating into what many economists are deeming the worst job market in recent history. Strangely enough though, I think they said the same thing when I graduated with my undergrad degree in 2003.

Back then; we also had to compromise to get our first jobs. The big difference was that the only individuals who “suffered” were the ones to not want to do anything about it. In fact, most of us realized that breaking out of our doldrums was only a matter of not being dependant on typical career-paths.

Sure, the study makes excellent points about lower future earnings being statistically linked to holding previously low-paying jobs. However, I think there is a strong argument to be said that as long as you are willing to put in the time and effort, it doesn’t matter what your current job is or what you are being paid.

Out of the five hours of commencement exercises we had to sit through yesterday, Associate Dean Jon Lehman made probably the best point about our MBA classes’ situation. During his address, Lehman said that our class “will be known as the one that graduated into a fierce storm.” Despite this truth being all to literal – the proceedings were ironically held under the threat of a severe weather warning – he also said that he knew that we would be able to outlast the storm.

In the end, who’s to say that we’re doomed to a statistically dimmer future than other classes?

If you ask me, I think the WSJ article was playing to the perceived reality of the situation. Call it the foolish optimism of a newly minted MBA, but as long as we do not let perception become prologue, I think the future is only what we decide to make it.