Getting on Board with Women Grow Business

Thanks to my (wonderful) friends, this particular cat got out of the bag before I could untie the strings, so I’m going to make this short and sweet (though I’ve been dying to tell you for a while): I’m really excited to be taking over the reins at Women Grow Business, an amazing community hosted by Network Solutions to help women do exactly that: grow their business.

With content from leading women entrepreneurs on a variety of subjects, Women Grow Business has really made a name for itself in an extremely short span of time, thanks to a great many people, but particularly, I think, because of Shashi Bellamkonda and Jill Foster; it’s the latter whose able hands I’ll be taking over WGB from.

Because of their efforts in building a vibrant, thriving community, WGB has received so many accolades, it’s a little mind-boggling: one of Forbes’ 20 best marketing and social media blogs by women, to name just one, not to mention Jill herself being listed by Forbes as one of 30 women entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter (and whatever your opinion about Twitter lists, you have to admit that’s a pretty cool one to be on).

Fyi, Shonali Burke Consulting still lives

Quick aside: in case you were wondering whether I’m giving up my consulting business – no, I’m not. Shonali Burke Consulting is alive and kicking and open for business. Hey, that’s what Women Grow Business is all about, right?

Back to WGB

So, anyway. I’m pinching myself because I can’t quite believe I get to do this – but I need your help.

Women Grow Business will not remain, or grow from, the amazing community/community blog it already is if women entrepreneurs and business owners don’t join in.

So please, visit me over at WGB, send me ideas for guest posts, let me know how you’d like to be involved. Follow us on Twitter and stay tuned for more developments online as well as offline, that we’d love you to be a part of.

Thank you for the incredible warmth and happiness you’ve shown to me today, and I’m looking forward to growing this wonderful community with you!

Lessons Learned From the Obama Campaign

Now that I’ve been back in D.C. for a few weeks after the PRSA 2009 International Conference, I finally find myself sitting down to reflect on a couple of the sessions I attended. This is mostly because I wanted to be able to do so thoughtfully, and not rush through my posts.

The first of these was “President Obama and the Citizens’ Campaign: Lessons Learned,” which was conducted by Mike Smith of Mike Smith Public Affairs. Leave it to a PRSA conference all the way across the country to be the place where Mike and I finally met “in real life (IRL),” even though we both live and work in the D.C. area. Ain’t that somethin’? (By way of disclosure, you should know that Mike’s firm was a sponsor of #shonalitweetup, which was a ton of fun that weekend.)

Since Mike graciously agreed to have his presentation, President Obama and the Citizen’s Campaign, reproduced here, I won’t bore you with a blow-by-blow description. I will tell you that his presentation was standing room only, at least until the latter half of his session. When it came time for the workshop part of his program, he broke us up into four groups to discuss an assigned topic, and report back to the entire room. There was a beeline for the door when he announced this; I kid you not. C’mon, PR peeps, where’s your sense of adventure?!

What was Interesting? Well. . .

• It was interesting learning about Mike’s experience as a citizen journalist during the Obama campaign. There were some great examples about building communities and letting them run (which is a concept that, in my opinion, nonprofits know how to do particularly well).
• Actresses, no matter how well trained they are on messaging, can sometimes let blatant honesty shine through. Mike gave the example of an interview he conducted with Anne Hathaway where she admitted she doesn’t know anything about Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
• One of the most interesting parts of the program was when we were put in breakout groups (I’ll get to that later).

What Public Relations Practitioners Should Take Away:

• It’s about you… but it’s not about you. Focus on brand champions — the bloggers/influencers with the biggest networks that can make an immense difference to your campaigns. Leverage how you network and you can create a movement.
• Understand the media cycle (yes, “MSM” is still important), and realize that when you want to reach a local audience, local news crews and pools — the media locals are consuming — are always going to get preference.
• The old model of messaging was “top down.” Not anymore. Now, to be successful, you have to engage your community.

Breakout Groups:
As I mentioned earlier, Mike divided us into four groups. Each group went into a huddle to discuss a topic, and then reported back to the larger group. In a nutshell, these topics were:

• How do you turn your agency around so that it’s more nimble? Your agency can be nimble at any size as long as you’re bringing all aspects from the company to the table and everyone is represented. Doing this will break down silos, which will make you and your agency more nimble and efficient.
• If you’re doing an interview for CNN, who are you? Remember that it’s not just about you, so find local news hooks and media angles.
• How do you respond to attacks (or public relations Jiu Jitsu)? There’s real potential to use social media in crisis situations. Start with an audit across your different audiences; because once you understand how they use social media, you can make a case to use it. Learn from others’ case studies, and build your “battle plan.” Remember to incorporate social media tactics into your overall crisis plan.
• To tweet or not to tweet? (This was the group I was a part of.) There was much discussion on if and/or when to use “surrogates. While I didn’t necessarily agree with some of the others on “using surrogates when necessary,” I do agree that you need to have transparency at all times. Don’t think that you need to have your CEO tweet if she or he isn’t comfortable with it; as long as there is representation from your organization and it’s transparent, that’s fine.

I think the key point Mike tried to drive home was this: we live in a world that’s changing very rapidly, and the 2008 election showed how the adoption and smart use of new technologies energized a completely new audience. Those of us who are still resisting the adoption of these technologies might find ourselves on par with the dinosaurs. On the other hand, much of what Obama’s campaign did was grounded in Saul Alinsky’s principles of community organizing and the populist movement. So perhaps it would be wise to revisit our history books once in a while.

Marry history with new communication tools, and while you might not be the next president of the United States, you’ll probably pull off a darned good PR campaign.

This post, with extremely minor edits (only in the first sentence), was cross-posted on the PRSA ComPRehension blog. Thank you, PRSA, for being so welcoming to me both as a speaker and blogger in San Diego last year. You rock.

Image: pierrelord

You, Who?

You know how, sometimes, you’re reading a conference line-up, trying to decide whether you’ll attend or not, and you see a name you’ve never seen, or heard, before? Happens to me every now and then. I like to think I know more than a few people in our “biz,” but sometimes I can’t help but go, “You, who?”

Yes, I get excited by events that are being headlined by the rock stars of our industry, or the folks I call the “WHOs.” These are the folks who – at least to me – are the real deal, not just big fish in whichever echo chamber they’ve taken up residence. They have terrific experiences and lessons to share, and it gives me a kick to meet them.

What I’ve started finding lately, though, is that the “whos” are often more exciting to me than the “WHOs.” Because they share new ideas and have fresh voices – the stuff that keeps our profession growing and relevant. And I’d really like to see and hear from more of them.

If there’s one thing you can do for yourself as a communicator and our profession at the same time, it’s to share what you know. Because that’s the only way others will learn, and we can continue to shape the body of knowledge that future generations will draw on. And what good are all those great ideas if you keep them inside yourself?

So if you’re a “who,” here’s my challenge to you: start doing something TODAY that will take you from a “who” to a “WHO.” Get involved with your local IABC or PRSA chapter. Look for and speak at local events. Share your thoughts on Twitter or your blog. Better yet, do both.

If you’re a “WHO,” are you paying it forward? Are you reaching to the “whos” of our world to help them climb the ladder you did so successfully?

Take it from a former “who” not quite a “WHO.” And if you won’t take it from me, take it from Smokie. Don’t be Alice… or the guy who lived next door to her.

Whether “who” or “WHO,” how have you been helped? What tips can you offer those trying to break the thought leadership ceiling? Do share, I’d love to know.

Photo: sfdavidz

Social Media, Social Karma

There’s an awful lot of social karma going around lately.

JOTW: My First Experience With Social Karma

For the last few years, I’ve occasionally guest-edited the free “Ned’s Job of the Week” e-newsletter. If you don’t know about it, it’s a free weekly newsletter that lists job postings sent to Ned Lundquist, ABC, by subscribers (as well as many he finds himself) in the spirit of sharing.

For a couple of weeks every year, I experience what Ned goes through on a daily basis: sifting through job postings sent by readers, looking for them myself, telling people how to subscribe and unsubscribe (even though the instructions are clearly listed in the newsletter) and then compiling all the information, along with other announcements that would be relevant (such as communication/PR events) into a newsletter that’s sent out every Monday.

It’s a lot of work, and I’m exhausted and relieved when Ned returns; but I’m always grateful for the additional connections I make by filling in for him, as well as honored by his trust that I’ll keep JOTW rolling along.

And I always ask myself: how on earth does he keep doing it?

The answer is very simple: Ned believes in social karma. Or rather, as he puts it, JOTW is dedicated to the “positive, unanticipated consequences of nedworking.” And no, that’s not a typo.

Ned didn’t start publishing JOTW to get something out of it. He did it to help a few folk he knew, and figured he might – just might – help himself along the way. Since its inception with a handful of subscribers, JOTW has grown tremendously; at last count, there are more than 11,111 members of the JOTW network. It now has a home on the Web as well as advertisers and sponsors.

The WIIFM Factor

Is Ned getting something out of JOTW now? You bet. But that’s not why he started it, and not why he keeps it going, or why he keeps it free to subscribers. And that, in my opinion, is why he’s successful.

Mind you, all this started several years ago, way before “social media” became the “buzzphrase” it is today. But to me, Ned epitomizes the inherent karmic element of social media. If you send something good out to your world – with no expectation whatsoever – something good will come back to you.

Twitter and Social Karma

One of the reasons I love Twitter is that it’s a perfect platform for social karma. Want to know who can enrich your network? Head to #followfriday. Want to show someone some Twitter-love? Re-tweet something interesting they’ve shared.

And through Twitter, I’ve come across even more instances of social karma.

Mark Story, for example, has started #blogmonday, where he highlights bloggers who might not be very well known. Arik Hanson posts interviews with professionals he thinks are “PR Rockstars” on his blog. Heather Huhman provides a wealth of PR resources by tagging relevant posts with #PRadvice. And there are countless others.

As far as I know, Mark, Arik and Heather aren’t necessarily “getting” anything out of their efforts. But I’m pretty sure they are enhancing their reputations (don’t worry, I’m not going to get into the whole personal branding thing here), building their networks and sowing the seeds for “positive, unanticipated consequences” which will have a beneficial effect on their work.

What’s the Communications Angle?

The first thing that anyone – including the many “gurus” out there – will tell you about social media is that it’s about listening, connecting and sharing. Everything else comes later.

If you’re a professional communicator grappling with the amoebic nature of social media, try thinking of it as your path to social karma.

After all, our business is communication, right? Sharing information, educating and informing audiences and hopefully, at the end of the day, doing some good by using smart communications to help organizations (or clients) achieve their goals.

Listening, sharing, connecting – this is what we DO. Don’t get intimidated by the technology behind it, or the buzzwords that tend to change quicker than David and Dania.

Call me naïve, but I believe social karma is a large part of what we do for a living. Social media is just another way to get there.

(Photo: Miss Bliss 55)

What about you? Is social karma part of your approach to communications? Have you found social media has increased your social karma? If you want to give props to someone who does, a comment would be a lovely way to do so.

Clicking Our Way To Ending Hunger

Yesterday I came across an interesting article: “What Would You Never Sell, Though Desperate For Money?” in the Chicago Tribune (hat tip to @ColonelTribune). That’s a relevant question in these times.

But what if you didn’t even have that option? What if you didn’t have anything you would never sell… to keep a roof over your head, or stay reasonably healthy, or put food on the table?

Not a pleasant thought, huh?

Through the Communicator’s Lens

As communicators, we don’t have all the answers, much as we’d sometimes like to think we do, to ending the world’s problems. What we can do, though, is harness the power of our networks to spread awareness that results in action.

This is why I’ve joined the Pledge to End Hunger, which launches today. I’m going to do my very best to motivate my networks to take simple, easy actions that could provide 140,000 meals for children in Austin during South by Southwest 2009 (SXSW).

Why Childhood Hunger?

Share Our Strength has some heartbreaking statistics here, telling us that one in six children were at risk of hunger at some point last year. Among them are:

• 5.1 million kids —43.6%—living at or below the poverty threshold.
• 5.9 million kids living with a married couple.
• 5.8 million kids -one-third—who live in single-woman households.
• 10.6 million kids living within metro areas—5 times the number living outside metro areas.

Just One Click

All it takes is a click via this online form. For each click, Tyson Foods will donate 35 lbs of food product, the equivalent of 140 servings (Twitter flashback, anyone?).

If 1,000 people take the online pledge, a semi-trailer filled with 140,000 meals will arrive at the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas in Austin during the SXSW ’09 Interactive Festival.

Of course, you can do more. You can take the pledge yourself, tell your friends about it, change your social network avatars, join the Facebook cause… and, if your pocket allows, make a donation.

You don’t have to do any of these things – but you can help me help kids by making one click.

Will you join me?

Why Little Things Matter

Today, I’m sending you away from my blog – yes, you read that right – to read my guest post on “Communication Overtones.”

As you know, that’s written by the brilliant, perceptive and generous Kami Huyse, and I am honored to be one of several guest-bloggers visiting with her over the next few days. I had a tough act to follow in Lauren Vargas, and her guest post, along with several conversations I’ve had on Twitter recently, led to mine: why PR should sweat the small stuff.

I do hope you will let us know what you think. Come back and visit with me soon, won’t you?

Through a Lens, Richly

Communicators: how do you use your lens to impact the world?

While channel-surfing a couple of years ago, I came across the documentary “Born into Brothels.” Having been born and brought up in Calcutta (now Kolkata), I was instantly captivated by the story. More than that, I was touched by Zana Briski’s commitment to these children born, through no fault of their own, on the wrong side of the street; and her covenant to open their eyes and bring them the riches of hope – through a camera lens.

The original Kids with Cameras. Source: Kids with Cameras

The Communicator’s Lens

When “Slumdog Millionaire” swept last week’s Golden Globes, I was reminded of the “kids with cameras,” and the power an image has to convey what, often, 516 words cannot. That is the essence of what we, as communicators, should aspire to, isn’t it? To convey a message to our audiences in such an efficient and impactful way that they are moved to action, enabling our clients or organizations to achieve their goals.

As communicators, we each have a unique lens through which we reach out to, and touch, the world.

Just in the last several days, I have come across many passionate communications professionals putting their networks to work for the greater good. Take Beth Kanter, who raised more than $3,500 for the Sharing Foundation which helps kids in Cambodia. Or Danny Brown, who’s initiated the incredible 12 for 12K campaign. You need look no further than your e-mail inbox, Twitterstream or Facebook friends to find countless examples of how an image – coupled with the power of connection – can change lives forever.

As my tribe that has overwhelmed me with birthday wishes today, I’m asking you to use the power of your lens to make a difference for the kids with cameras. You can:

• Join the Facebook group for Kids with Cameras. (We can’t donate to them via Facebook right now, but we’ll find a way to help them.)
• Donate whatever you can – whether it’s $5 or $50, directly to Kids with Cameras. If you’re clicking through from this post, please select “Hope House,” since Avijit is already in the U.S. If you’d like to make the donation in someone else’s name, just check that box (and if you want to make it in mine, I’d be more honored than I can tell you; just make a note of that in your comment below so that I can send you my email address).
• If the amounts in option #2 above don’t work for you, you can make a donation of whatever amount is comfortable for you by either calling or emailing them a check.
• If you’re unable to donate or join the Facebook group (I know it’s a tough time) but would still like to help, just send me a note. We’ll find a way to put our talents to work for them.
• If this cause touches you, please tell your family, friends and colleagues about it. Spreading the word is the greatest power communicators have!

You can change the world through your lens. How you do it is up to you.

8 Letters, 60 Years, And A New Frontier

This is a story of how numbers and people intersect.

Yesterday was my mother’s 60th birthday. Since she lives 13 and a half hours ahead of me, I was up early to wish her. I typically log on to Twitter first thing in the morning, to catch up and generally confab with my “tweeps.” While I was doing this, I noticed a tweet discussing the fun one could have with a made-up hashtag like #SHTYMFM (Say Hi To Your Mother For Me).

I thought it would be fun to tweak that and ask people to wish my mother; she’s been grappling with the emotional roller coaster of officially retiring on her birthday from a long teaching career, while still a vibrant resource for her students. All they had to do was reply to me and include the hashtag #SHBTYMFM. (You don’t need me to spell that out, do you?)

I’ve experienced, over and over again, how generous “Twitterville” can be, but even I didn’t expect for 24 people, none of whom have ever met my mother, to wish her. That number includes a few who sent good wishes her way before I introduced the game, used #SHTYMFM as a hashtag, and one who sent her a virtual birthday cake.

My mother was touched and overwhelmed. She has also created a Twitter account. I don’t expect her to become a social media maven overnight, but I am excited that she is taking the plunge into what is, for her, a brand new frontier. On the other hand, she’s quite a remarkable woman, so I wouldn’t put anything past her. And to everyone who responded, again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Eight letters flew my mother’s way from three different continents, spurring her to not consider 60 years as the end of her relevance, but as an opportunity to explore the limitless potential that awaits.

That’s the power of connection.

Point. Click. Connect.

Truth be told, I didn’t expect to be writing this post at this very minute; after all, one wants one’s first blog post to be slightly more than just “why I’m here” blather, doesn’t one? However, I was given so much help today in working out some WordPress kinks by Joe Perez of Zealous Marketing, it reminded me all over again of the power of connection that we, as communicators, possess.

Why do we do what we do? And by that I mean “public relations,” “social media,” whatever you want to call it… I’m going to call it “communications.” It’s not the easiest of lifestyles – one is often on call. And it certainly isn’t for the money, though of course there are those who have made a most lucrative business of it.

Well, I do it because I love being able to use my talents as a communicator to bring people together and figure out how to use communications to reach a shared goal, to achieve common objectives. It’s not always easy, since everyone doesn’t start out talking the same language at first. But it sure is fulfilling when we finally get there.

I believe – at least, I hope – that’s the reason most of us do it. Good communication enables powerful connection. And that connection can have a positive impact on lives at micro and macro levels which, in turn, can influence the way the world turns.

That power of connection blew me away today, when thanks to my Twitter community, I received expert help within minutes, and that was just for an issue I was having with this little blog (if you’ve been plagued by similar issues, by the way, check out Joe’s “Installing Google Analytics on WordPress” video). Imagine that power of connection at macro levels; what great possibilities lie within a communicator’s hands.

Point. Click. Connect. That’s all it takes.