Ever since Forrester put out its report stating that consumers don’t trust 86 percent of corporate blogs, there have been a plethora of blog check up, and reasons why posts.  Here are some of my favorites:

• A blog should feel like a gift (Kami Huyse)
• Health Check: How trusted is your blog (Jeremiah Owyang)
• No News Here (Debbie Weil)
• On the Other Hand, Maybe Your Company Shouldn’t Blog (Mitch Joel)

In the end, consumers don’t trust corporate blogs because they are one dimensional pieces of propaganda, and no one want  to read corporate drivel (see Blog Council post on topic). It sucks!

Really, it’s that simple.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone: Social Media

One dimensional social media is about me, my personal brand (good Conversation Agent discussion here), my company, our products, buy, buy! Note the absence of real world matters, meaningful dialogues about better products or fixing broken ones, discussion of marketplace problems, meaningful macro trends, cross-links, comments or community issues. There is no substance in your average corporate blog, Twitter microblog ,influencer relations effort or Facebook engagement. Heck, for most corporate communicators engaging on that level is like visiting the Twilight Zone.

This is something that gets to the very heart of social media. People are not an audience, they are a community that wants to be engaged, not messaged at! Want to be safe? Publish a newsletter.  Want to build relationships and have meaningful dialogue, then stop publishing content and participate!

Participation is marketing, not tossing a bunch of chic advertising agency designed contests at the blogosphere. Creating meaningful calls to actions that people care about, that’s social media engagement. Create environments for people to engage and get out of their way! Help others achieve their needs and wants. Resolve their problems! That’s what companies should do (case studies here and here).

It’s common sense, but it’s not safe. Because it involves risk, it involves putting the company out there, and taking feedback. It means talking about things other than you or your organizational endeavors. It even means being wrong sometimes.

86 percent stinks.  I don’t anticipate that changing too much more towards the positive. Why? Because PR, marketing and corporate communications are incapable of performing on the front line. No matter how much smack they talk.

I saw the post, I read the comments, I respect the author. But the PR agency versus stand alone social media agency title seemed, well, kind of like an old topic. To be fair, Todd asked a lot of questions about the blurred lines, and what it really means to the definition of his firm: PR or social media. And one very smart answer from Julie Wright said a communications firm (image: Gumbo by fooey).

For the purpose of this discussion, let’s add the advertising firm, just to get the whole group of competitors in there. Sound like a familiar discussion from, say, about a year ago?

Let’s cut to the chase. What we really have is a new media form that requires convergence from a wide variety of disciplines. Here are some ingredients in this fantastic gumbo:

1) You need PR to garner earned media and serve as an ombudsman between parties.

2) You also need advertising. Yes, you do. Good, snappy calls to action need to be integrated as companions to social media, and brief copy writing skills are critical! The problem with advertising is the lack of authenticity.

3) Which brings us to the social media wonk. The wonk, expert, or personality gets the media form from a networking perspective, but without some sort of relevant professional experience, couldn’t communicate their way out of a box in a real marcom job.

4) The old 1.0 boutique — the interactive agency — is needed. Why, can you the reader design? No, online design is an art in itself and you also need the SEO portion of the formula. We are thrilled to have had Viget design this site and blog.

5) Every gumbo has its spices, and here on the Buzz Bin we give away our recipe secrets. How about some customer services, business developments skills (you know, Networking), a dash of legal to avoid trouble, and finally just some good old fashioned non-business writing.

Communicate!

Welcome to the new era of communications. It’s a virtual jumbalaya of disciplines and you need a little of everything. All of the semantics are the various business owners (like myself) and professionals trying to get their slice of the pie.

It’s all irrelevant because some PR firms like SHIFT will evolve and take a slice. We still get a lot of business from companies that have been burned by PR firms in this regard so I’ll add that SHIFT is not the normal firm. But sooner or later PR firms will integrate.

Ad agencies will get some, and so will interactive firms. And they, too, seem to struggle, more with conversations and communities. At the same time they excel at design, SEO, applications, and social network marketing.

Boutiques like myself or the Social Media Group’s Maggie Fox will become social media stand-alone boutiques. Many of us have a background in journalism, interactive, PR or advertising (For example, I have all three, but mostly PR). But we’ll be specialists, and we’ll always be forced to integrate into larger marketing and communications initiatives. We’ll always be forced to play nice with big PR firms and ad agencies. We may even get swallowed up by them.

And we’ll all fight over the semantics. That’s a conversation that doesn’t really matter to me any more. It is what it is.

Great titles say something, and that’s why I am excited about reading Shel Israel’s book-in-process, Twitterville. To me, the title captures the essence of what Twitter is, a social community that’s not quite a megatropolis like Facebook, yet maintains a larger presence, kind of like a small city nestled on the sea (Image: The Old City by Ronsho). 

Twitter definitely deserves all of the attention it gets, but at the same time is not  the ultra panacea that some say it is. It lacks many of the contact manager, full video, audio, full text and bookmarking capabilities of other networks. Acceptable interaction can be hard to find. It needs other tools like Tweetdeck to automatically repost (retweet) or group people. It’s just 140 characters, really. So when I hear about whole communication plans or even businesses being developed solely for Twitter, I get skeptical.

Yet at the same time, Twitter’s simplicity is what makes it great. It truly fosters a community, a large village with different cliques, different stories, and different conversations that vary by interest.  Cross pollination occurs by interest or professional commonality. And it can really do great things, and help people affect societal change.

"Twitter is the most intimate of social media platforms," said Shel in a written interview he gave for this post. "It lets people online behave more than they do in real life than anything that has preceded it."

Isn’t that the truth, both good and bad?  I mean consider the whole Matt Bacak press release melodrama.  For those who are not familiar, Bacak issued a press release about his status as a top Twitterer due to Twitter Grader’s analysis of his profle. Bacak argued this makes his marketing prowess worthy of top dollars int he release. Given the suspect nature of Twitter Grader, he rightly caught a ton of grief about it. Bacak’s had a pretty smart recovery in his responses to folks today on Twitter.

The Bacak case did highlight how Twitter can really let individuals thrust themselves into the spotlight and build what some might consider to be undeserving greatness.  Or reap/create undeserving havoc. For example, in my opinion, the Motrin melodrama seemed a bit overwrought.

But like every village, there are good and bad folks; people who do great, and others who make mistakes. And there are great organizations in our community and others who don’t make the grade. It’s just another day in the life of Twitterville.

Shel added more insights into our funny little community and what to expect from his book:

Twitterville is a virtual place where the people you meet are real and the relationships you form are often quite valuable. The book gives a compelling argument for companies of all sizes to join in, particularly during these tough economic times.

Twitterville is a place where global businesses can set up very, local, personal shops at very low cost. It is simultaneously where people like Geoff Livingston can establish global reputations while remaining in relatively small organizations. Twitterville is comprised of global neighborhoods where geography is irrelevant and people organize around shared interests.

Ah yes, the first social media book that I’ve been excited to read in a long while… Twitterville. Looking forward to the late next year release (hopefully). 

What do you think of our little village (or Shel’s forthcoming book)?

It occurs to me that whether it’s in person, using traditional tools, or here in the echo chamber (a.k.a. social media) that great communications remain difficult.  Why?  Because it’s not the toolset; it’s not the ability to be friendly; and it’s definitely not a personal brand. On the contrary, simplicity matters more (Image: the almost perfect circle by enggul).

This post assumes you understand the stakeholder and can give them value. It assumes you are using the right media forms to reach out. If you’re really good, you already have relationships in play. How do you get you through the noise?

Well, as we have learned repeatedly over the years.  Simplicity in communications. But as we most recently learned from the Heaths, simple is not easy. In fact it takes a concerted and consistent effort, regardless of the media form.

Here are six tips that I personally practice to make my outreach as effective as possible:

1) Outlines and frameworks:  Good strategic communications usually have forethought.  Creating outlines and frameworks to everything from blog posts and emails to major proposals and books forces you to structure your thoughts.

2) Take the time to communicate the obvious:  For example, with this post I just wanted to write the six tips. But without context and a thesis, the tips would have been random and probably would have seemed tactical. Just because the logic makes sense to you, doesn’t mean people have enough information to come to the same conclusion.

3) Thesis: Always start with a great intro that communicates your thesis. Get people’s interest right away. If it’s a longer communications, start subsections with section-specific thesis and intros.  Similarly, if it’s a complicated communication, repeat again with a conclusion. Again, it doesn’t matter whether this is for a speech or a white paper.

4) Brevity:  Speaking simply means concise dialogue. If you have a hard time with this, practice using Twitter.  One thing this social network (besides being part of a real community) will teach you is brevity. Take the time edit and cut the fat.

5) Great headlines: Blog posts, titles, section headlines, presentations, etc.  Try to make a snappy headline that communicates exactly what will be delivered.  This is a skill I learned from my Dad, who used to be managing editor of the Philadelphia Daily news and won two local Pulitzer awards for his headline writing.

6) Be real (or sub in personality or transparency or authenticity or…): The great lesson from social media: Make sure there’s some grit and real personality within your communications. Eloquent rhetoric means something, but it means a heck of a lot more when people can sense a persona with real experiences behind it.

Very public, socially-catalyzed non-profit activity can humanize a company in a much more meaningful way than just highlighting “a personal voice” on the blog. Showing a human heart across the company touches people in a genuine way, especially in a time when people throughout the country really need the help!

In fact from a corporate marketing standpoint, this is exactly when a company should be seen contributing to society and encouraging its people to very publicly pitch in and help causes. The key is that the activity needs to be genuine, truly representing the company’s views.

“Our collective reality is borne of our interactions. We can and must create a different pattern than that we are facing with the economic slowdown,” said Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni in an email interview.

“I was talking with some friends the other day about how this Christmas will be about love,” said Maltoni. “There is nothing more energizing, nothing more powerful than the conscious decision to be there for one another. We don’t use the “L” word inside organizations often. Demonstrating resiliency is also about looking to help those who are facing less fortunate circumstances. In the end, we are all connected.”

And what means more, personal brands deployed by a company or publicly investing in our society? Or even better, using these critical social media tools to encourage our companies and their extended networks of vendors, investors and customers? To help our fellows who are suffering?

Real voices on a blog and social responsibility both provide transparency inside the company’s soul, but human contact can only go so far sometimes. Has comcastcares’ Frank Eliason changed Comcast’s public perception? It’s really just a start. Corporate integrity demonstrated through real actions often means more.

Incorporating Social Responsibility

We practice this ethos at Livingston, both in our recommendations and our actions. Our blog represents only a small example of how we are giving back. Here’s just a sample:

As a team our activities are deep and consistent in this regard. In fact, we gave Qui Diaz her own social cause practice to foster this important activity.

We’re not the only firm pushing companies to get more engaged with social causes. Edelman has its Good Purpose effort. According to Edelman, over 83 %of consumers are willing to change consumption habits to make tomorrow’s world a better place. Another big agency, Fleishman-Hillard conducted a study reaffirming this:

A recent national opinion survey of Americans found that knowledge of a company’s commitment to social responsibility influences purchasing behavior more than lower prices do.

The business case is clear (hat tip: Richard Becker). Social responsibility means more to customers.

Now More Than Ever

Because they are small and subject to charitable donations, they too are endangered by the current economic situation. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, many non-profits face their extinction or demise.

There will be no bail-out for the non-profit industry from Congress. While the auto industry certainly has a big impact on our economy, so does the non-profit industry. In fact, social causes and other non profits do more than just provide jobs, they seek to better our society in a variety of ways, from supporting the arts to feeding the poor.

Now more then ever companies need to show their human side… and do it with more than a little “flair” on their blog. The economy may be an excuse to cut costs, but charities still need our help.

That’s why I refuse to send our clients meaningless mugs or gift baskets for the holidays. We give money and services on their behalf to charities. We use those resources to impact and change our world. That means even more this year, when our country really needs these charities to get through what will be one of the toughest times in living memory.

Updated at 12:19 a.m.

Shel Holtz and John Havens just published the book “Tactical Transparency.” The latest entry in the growing library of social media books is a very strong one. I highly recommend it to executives and communicators considering social media for any organization, but particularly within enterprises or non-profits that have 20 or more people working for them.

Here’s my video review:

Some more color… The thing I took away from the book was the theme of transparency, and how critical this new level of visibility is for organizational social media. While personality matters, this book is about more comprehensive corporate social media, and as such it’s more important to show the entity’s logic, efforts, reasons, as well as its people. In essence, what personality adds for the individual, transparency provides to the larger entity.

In addition, I really liked how Holtz and Havens blended brick and mortar examples of transparency with online versions. The reality is online works so much better when it’s integrated into traditional communications. It’s great to see a book recognize that.

My only minor critique is an overly strong focus on blogs as a tool. In comparison, while social networks are well discussed, they are not as well documented. With each passing year, I feel that social networks have become an increasingly critical component of corporate social media.

All in all, I rated it five stars on Amazon, and will be buying additional copies to provide to colleagues and clients. Well done, Shel and John! Buy Tactical Transparency today!

Ducati recently launched its new Streetfighter motorcycle with a reveal video and at the EICMA conference. Both events have been captured on YouTube, but for several reasons this online launch marks another corporate social media failure.

Yay. YouTube, but is that really social? Consider the lack of discussion on Twitter. How about blog posts? Only 285 in Technorati in all languages, including all of the prelaunch rumors.

In my mind, that means the community was not engaged. Companies who experiment with social media often make this mistake. They publish content instead of interacting with their stakeholders. They push messaging instead of engaging the community. Influencer relations and knowing the prominent Ducati owner and motorcycle influencers to involve them in the launch would have been savvy. Consider India’s Bikers on the Fastrack Facebook Group.

Heck, even the official web site doesn’t have the basic tagging and sharing principles that any major online product release should have. I don’t care whether you call that a social media release or just common sense. Consider that the reveal photos were not issued on Flickr though lots of folks at the show took them.

In addition to influencer relations and posting content in socially accessible locations, here are several pointers that Ducati could have benefited from:

What else would you suggest for this effort?

The Network Solutions sponsored Solutions Stars Video Conference (today at 1, don’t miss it!) features nine content themes:

Balancing time online is critical. You need to market and build a reputation, but finding the right balance is critical.  Here are five suggestions to save time:

1) Focus on the two social networks that your community most cares about. A lot of people tell you need to be anywhere, I say BS: You need to be where it matters, and that’s the back channel where your stakeholders are congregating.

2) Set aside a limited amount of time to participate.  A quota on time is helpful. 

3) Focus on quality, not quantity.  How are you building your online social media community? What are you doing to contribute?  People remember someone who has delivered great quality to them, either through actual networking or valuable information.

4) This one came from my time saving friend Jared at AwayFind. Get all of your email sent to second email address that does not affect your workflow. Check it on your terms, when it makes sense.

5) Never supplant facetime with Facebook time. Know what pays the bills.

I hope you can join us for the conference today. It should be outstanding. And with that, I am done blogging about Solutions Stars.

The Network Solutions sponsored Solutions Stars Video Conference (Oct. 29 at 1, don’t miss it!) features nine content themes:

This is the eighth of nine posts in nine days, offering thoughts on each section.

Rising Above the Noise

The increasingly crowded marketplace for eyeballs — the fractured online media environment — makes it very difficult for businesses to successfully market themselves online. There’s so much noise that folks have to rise above the average blog, the prototypical social network user to distinguish themselves to their stakeholders.

Our panelists discussed several ways to separate from the pack. Here are my top five, some from our bloggers, some from my own experiences.

1) Build value for the community with meaningful content and conversations. This is obvious. Like Chris Brogan, constantly serve your readership and deliver time in and time out. When you do that, folks keep coming back AND they inevitably start developing relationships with you.

2) Have an opinion. Most businesses feel they need to people please, that they need to be safe. Great voices on the Internet have an opinion and stand by it, even if some folks don’t like it. They stick by their guns in the face of controversy and other opinions (but if proven wrong factually own it), and they offer strong theories. Some are more diplomatic than others, but all offer value and make people think.

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody - Bill Cosby

3) Be generous and give your spotlight to others. This is the generous web, and by highlighting other influential voices through links, comments interviews and social network bookmarking, you are helping their social media efforts to succeed. It’s a karmic inevitability that your will draw positive attention to yourself.

4) In addition to building value and shining a light on others, write/create great content. I still think participation on social networks precedes content creation success, but without great content the effort will fail. So while content may not be king anymore, it’s certainly royal.

5) Be you. Personality, genuine, transparent, authentic… Whatever, choose your word of choice. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Your personality needs to come through so that people can identify with you.

I put this fifth and last for a reason. Most folks overemphasize this and underemphasize the prior four. That’s the social media expert’s mistake. You need to put your stakeholders before your ego.

In addition to the main site, please visit the Solutions Stars Video Conference event pages on Facebook and Upcoming:

• www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33854706886
• upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1200021

We’ve pre-released Solutions Stars Video Conference session 2, the Social Opportunity. Featured in this session are

The Solutions Stars Video Conference will be held at 1 p.m. The nine videos in whole are 45 minutes in length, and with chat, etc. we anticipate the event will run until 2:30 or so.

The nine sessions are:

In addition to the main site, please visit the Solutions Stars Video Conference event pages on Facebook and Upcoming:

• www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33854706886
• upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1200021