How far is too far? Obsession with analytics and feedback

Press Coverage Done Right: A Story Of Social Media, PR And Stalking is an article that was posted today by Michael Brenner. Michael will no doubt be excited about all the Google Analytics his blog is wracking up today. However, it might be a little downer when he realizes they're all from me. My bad.

I can be all cool and talk big about how not to bother Journalists, and what the best way to keep up with their coverage and know when to pounce on a good story pitch. However, how can I be all cool, and not bother myself?

I confess. I have a problem. I have a google analytic addiction. This goes back to a previous post about being over informed and having too much information at your fingertips.

I analyzed what I would say, made sure I could provide back up links to relevant information, and I set my clock for when Michael said the blog would be live. I was so excited to see it. It's my first interview. To me, this equals Oprah. I'm pretty excited. (I'll let you know if Michael has a "Brenner Effect" at a later date).

After I sent the email to my mother (She's my biggest fan), I tweeted a couple times, and posted the article on Linkedin. This wasn't my post after all, it cited me. So, I can't be too aggressive with my posting or I'll just be tooting my own horn. However, here I am blogging about blogging because I don't think my numbers are high enough. (toot toot.)

Yes, I understand what this looks like. But I've already said I have a problem... I can't help it. Same with my work analytics. I send emails for B2B marketing for a technology company just about monthly. We use Salesforce for analytics and I'm addicted to watching the numbers go up as the email goes out. Who's opening? Who's ignoring? And GASP--who just unsubscribed?! 

Each number, each part of my ROI point is personal. What can I do better next time? How can I make changes? There has got to be an easier way...

Meanwhile, we're looking into social media monitoring software, I'm testing new gadgets for my personal blog and learning how to take them to the enterprise level for work. All these things will help my addiction. Or will they enable my addiction? hmm...only time will tell. 

Am I alone here? please say no, please say no, please say no, please say no, please say no, please say no...

Age of the Over-informed and Undecided

While I should be packing for a fantastic learning opportunity with other Argyle CMO Forum attendees, I'm instead blogging from home. The conference is in New York, you know--the city under scrutiny for not knowing how to properly respond to a blizzard? The latest reports give all the doom and gloom of expected inches of snow and possible mayhem. This Texan girl must decline potential blizzards, trips to visit the New Yorker Office with old pals, and chances to rub elbows with new marketing comrades. Dangit.

Why? Because the internet told me to.

Friend of mine (and fellow blogger) is having a baby. Nearly freaking out about diapers, strollers, food, daycare, you name it, she is Googling it. She is rightfully overwhelmed. Have you seen the reviews on these things? Frightening. You go with a 3-Star stroller instead of 4-Star, and you risk your baby's life and wellbeing. Not to mention their rep at the playground-for like, LIFE. Luckily, I can come to the rescue and refer her to another friend of mine (and blogger) who has reviewed several of these items. Alas, she still has no idea what she wants.

Why? Because the internet changes it's mind.

I get home, boyfriend tells me how John Elway has embraced Twitter. How the once "CIA-like" secrecy of the NFL is being released for the first time, and people are loving it. They love the new influx of information. This will  no doubt cause controversy every Sunday and Monday in the household. As if the new ESPN iphone app wasn't accessible enough, now Elway has a play by play in the boardroom.

I'll be the first to admit. I love it.

I google everything. If I'm going to an event. I search for pictures so I know what to wear. If you are selling me something I'm the slightest bit interested in, I'm checking you out. If you're applying for a job, you better have a linkedin profile. And if I just met you, I already know more about your ex-girlfriend that you do. But honestly what good does this do? Ya, not much.

What I do know, is that over-informed travelers are likely to spend more time at home. Maternal instincts make you spend sleepless nights googling poop-holders. And Twitter scares stockholders to death.

I'm wondering how many others out there are like us? (assuming you are reading this because you googled me) The over-informed and undecided... 

Knowledge is power...right? Multi-tasking was the premier trait seeked by job recruiters in the 90's (see INC interview with Julie Morgenstern.) Now, is the more focused individual the more informed? Do people without the white noise interruption become the most wanted? Is it better to know more of less than less of more?

Honestly, I still don't know.

Therefore, I blog about these topics, pose these questions, google for reference material, post on twitter, write about it on Facebook, and anxiously await feedback from my readers. If I don't receive immediate feedback, I'll post again on Twiiter tomorrow morning. If I don't hear anything then, I'll check my Google Analytics account to make sure people are reading my blog. Then I'll check what company they are from, then how long they spent reading, then maybe check what search term they used to find me... then maybe... oh gosh.... its a never ending circle isn't it?

I google so I can learn more. So I know what to google better, so I can learn more....

You're born with it, or You're not.

 I lost my new Bluetooth ear-piece this morning (again). I started thinking about my 17 year old daughter. She's been in big trouble lately. She wrecked and totaled her first car, she broke her brand new G3, got a new one, then lost it and has consequently lost all privileges to life in general. 

So I'm searching the parking lot of Petsmart, hoping I find the stupid Bluetooth thing - I did. I just laugh at myself thinking I'm an idiot. I've lost or broke about a million cellphones, my brand new iPod touch spent its first six-months of life lost in the couch cushions, I can never remember where I put anything. Wow... could I have taught this behavior to her? Or maybe she was just born that way? 

I decide to go with some people are just born that way (obviously nothing to do with my rearing). Some people continue behavior patterns no matter how hard you try to groom them for change. This links me to another subject, (I've got an hour commute, this happens a lot)... Can you only be successful with a natural talent? Do you have to be born with the ability, or at least the desire to do something? Or, can you teach someone to like something enough, to be successful at something even if they don't want to do it? Can I teach Lauren to respect her phone, not wreck her car, or to at least stop losing stuff? I've given up. No, I don't think I can.

Consequently, can you create a social media person? Can you create a social media leader? Can you get non-believers to find the magic in social media? Can you actual show them that it can be used for good not evil? This is my battle today.

Our General Counsel, Mike Hamilton, was the feature of this months internal newsletter for Atos Origin North America. He puts it so eloquently: “…there are some rules of thumb to keep in mind when communicating in the social networking world.  Rule number 1: use common sense.  Rule number 2: see Rule number 1.”

We've been on the cusp of some amazing social media potential lately. Our CIO CTO Blog created in the UK is up for a ComputerWeekly Blog Award, service delivery line guys are creating content and making sure we're posting within a certain time-frame, external communications is working with program managers and our scientific community to create social links and individual blogging potential. All these things are a step in the right direction.

But I still get comments like
  "Are you going to Tweet that?" 
  "I'd like a job that lets me Facebook and Google myself all day."
  "Twitter won't be around forever, you're wasting your time."
  "We don't want our information out there."

These are legitimate concerns I suppose, if you aren't made the same way I am. The same way other people mixed in the social media frenzy are also made. I don't think we will always tweet. I don't think Facebook will be the last best-thing. I DO think that the way we're communicating has changed. I DO think spending my time researching the market online, observing our competition within their own social confines, and connecting our service delivery personnel to the outside world is very important. But, again, I'm just born that way. I've always been open to a new way of working. I like change, I expect change, I need change.

If your company wants to go in a "social" direction, it doesn't mean you lose control of your privacy. It doesn't even mean that you have to do it. It doesn't even mean that you have to like it. This is not unlike the telegraph, telephone, cell phone, email, online messaging, text messaging... its just a progression. If your not jumping into the social waters now and could care-less about doing so, no worries. You don't have to. You just aren't born that way. I'm learning to accept that. I'm learning to accept that some people think my twitter and Facebook are silly. I'm not even trying to change that. The fact that I can still communicate your message through all the newest outlets and keep your brand connected with others keeps you from having to do so. I'm pretty sure you also winced back in 1998 when websites first began emerging. "The competition will find us!" You've gotten used to it, or at least accepted it by now. (fingers crossed). I'm hoping you can do the same thing with my tweets. It's all for the greater good. I promise.

My daughter on the other hand....

As I dust off the road rash from my bluetooth and stick it back in my ear, I see I owe her an apology. You are clearly born with it. Sorry sweetie. I love you anyway. (but yes, you're still grounded)

So, a girl walks into a bar...

None of these are Suzy, but a good reason to post a wine/working/drinking photo.

Ok, so the girl was my friend, and we weren't at a bar (we were at Arturo's, yum!) but there was wine and social media conversation involved. Let's just call her Suzy.

Naturally, I'll help Suzy. She hears opportunity knocking, and knows that the public relations industry is ever changing. What once was a glad-hand, take-the-media-to-dinner, buy-some-advertising, play-nice-with-my-financial-report type of relationship, has transformed into an online-googleable, is-it-SEO-worthy, follow-me type of shout outs. (right now she's thinking - oh crap! what does that mean?!)

Now, these are obviously my nonsense description of how I see another change in the world of communications, and doesn't apply to all PR of course. There are still the perfect reasons for pitching the best story ideas over lunch, good media coverage from product roll-out events, and of course the ol' wire press release. However, if your still doing all these things, and skipping social media integration, you've GOT to be missing out!

So, my dear friend Suzy wants to get started. I've promised to help (as long as more wine will be involved). What better way than to make Suzy read my blog to get her answers. After she's read my blog and built the structure for her community, I'll sit down with Suzy and talk strategy. Since she is REALLY new to this, we're starting her off with baby steps.

Step 1: Brand yourself
This is a huge step all on its own. Decide on a profile picture that is professional and easily recognized by your peers. Decide on a writing style and stick with it. Decide what types of conversations you want to have. Decide on where to draw the line (or if you even want to) between personal and professional.

Step 2: Decide on an outlet
Now, I say this because I don't think everyone has to do EVERYTHING. I think you can choose one type of social media, and just start there. I am going to ask Suzy to create a Facebook account. Why Facebook? She can easily create automatic updates for a twitter account, her Linkedin account and even a blog if she wanted to. This way, she updates once, and all the different sites keep her account active. Later, when she gets the hang of things, she can concentrate on different strategy for each outlet, but lets try and keep her from getting overwhelmed.

Step 3: Interact
Suzy has to learn that no matter how cute she looks in her photo (and she will because she is using Victoria Lind Photography) and no matter now many friends she collects on Facebook (and she will because everyone loves Suzy) her accounts are worth nothing unless she uses them. You must read other peoples posts, you must send people material you find interesting, you must stay connected. Be sure to tell your manager how you found a journalist through a group on Linkedin (by the way nice to meet you Paul Desmond) Show your sales team how to find leads on Twitter. Easily keep relationships across the nation with all types of Journalists (hope all is well Kristin Burnham).

Step 4: Read, Read, and Re-Read
My marketing coordinator asked me the other day "do you think Facebook will always be this popular?". Nope, I don't. I have no doubt that something (one day) will replace it. And whatever that is, I'll be one of the first to join it because I'll have already read someone's blog about it and saw the numerous amounts of tweets and youtube coverage about it!

Well Suzy, I really hope this helps. When you've completed steps 1 and 2, I'll come help you with the rest...

See other stories of "How to get started in Social Media" here. (from people who are much more qualified than I am. But not as good looking)

http://www.technotheory.com/how-to-use-social-media-guide/
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/getting-started/
http://www.inc.com/ss/get-started-social-media

Branding Yourself on Social Sites

@atosRachel

facebook

Every designer knows you can't use twenty different fonts on the same layout, you can't mix different photography styles in the same periodical, and you certainly must use a common color pallet for your brand. These rules also apply to social media. My team worked to keep a consistant look for the Atos Origin Facebook pages, the Atos Origin twitter, the Atos Origin Linkedin groups, and will continue to do so as new social media outlets become available. It's important to keep current, and keep your brand in the forefront. See Chris Brogan's Blog on branding with Social Media

Linkedin

blogger

This got me thinking... how can I link my personal social media accounts all linked? I'm not a company, I'm not a brand. The lines of my personal facebook account are quickly being blurred into my professional life. I want to keep the "personal touch" on my facebook account, yet still keep the same "rachel" brand on my other sites. I don't want to appear to be simply self-preserving... (but aren't us bloggers all kind of ego surfers?)

I took my first step in doing this today! In true ego-surfer fashion, I hired Victoria Lind Photography to take my first ever professional profile pics. While I'm standing in Houston's Uptown Park, trying to keep my hair from flattening, wiping sweat off my face, and pretending that all of this completely normal... I'm thinking (I do this a lot)...Is this normal? Do people really pay this much attention? Will people pay more attention to my tweets if they recognize me? Will branding "Rachel Macik" in turn help to brand my company? Will Atos Origin benefit from a little social pr?

...I guess I'll just have to try this and find out!

Feeling tweet-ledee or tweet-ledumb?

So how do you chose a technology to promote your business? Do you need to use all of them? If you don't know what to do, do you do nothing? I saw an article called "To Tweet or Not to Tweet" on a cover of some magazine that was inadvertently thrown away before I had a chance to read it. (happens a lot) So I google it today, and there are multiple articles ranging from The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Success Magazine, and blogs.  There are several arguments for each faucet of every opinion, but this is my blog, so I'm just giving you my non-referencable opinion :)
Let's say I want to buy something whether it's a pair of shoes, hotel stay, housekeeping service, a new house, or a new laptop, I'm going google it. I'll check for references, likes-dislikes, are they innovative, is it cutting-edge, endorsements, corporate culture, and more...If I'm tweeting, facebooking, blogging, and at minimum have updated websites I can steer my prospects and customers to the content I want them to read.
My point is, if you are not active in these spaces, you will be lost. Your great offerings, custom designed printed flyers might never make it in the hands of your client before they make a decision. Its our job as marketeers to make certain everyone can find our products and services.
So back to my point. Do you NEED to be in all of these spaces? My answer is no. And yes :) As you become comfortable with each of the new tools, implement them into your daily routine. Kind of like a diet or exercise regim. Slowly implement at a regular speed so it becomes a part of your every day. If you try to do everything all at once you're going to just quit, and end up fat. end up off the SEO radar!
My co-worker asked me the other day, but do you really think Facebook, blogging, and twitter will last forever? Nope, I don't.... nothing lasts forever, but this is part of evolution and we're in it. So embrace it!
I'm going to be working on this theory with our new SAP Global Campaign for Atos Origin. So far, I have a twitter and facebook page. They virtually have the same content, but soon they will  be picked up by other global marketeers and Atos Origin SAP users around the globe. I'll keep you updated...

My new title: Jack of all Trades

So, I'm sitting down this morning with my work mentor (I like to refer to it as my personal counseling), and we came to the conclusion that being a "Jack of all Trades" isn't all bad.

I decided a long time ago I liked design. Then, I decided I liked PR, no wait--trade shows...and multimedia..oh! Maybe I should just be a "marketeer"? Well, I've been doing this for about 13 years, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. Now, Marketing has encompassed personal client outreach, analyst relations, industry knowledge, social media, community relations, and even more. What's a girl to do?

We talked this morning that maybe its OK to be a little scattered. It seems that gone are the days where you could hire one person to do one job. I like working in groups, I like volunteering, I like my social media attempts, I like project management... Perhaps if I stop trying to find my niche, and just embrace the mayhem that is "my work", I'll find the inner peace that I've been looking for.

I've been invited to join our Global Marketing campaign groups, flying into Paris to get face-to-face collaboration meeting time; I work directly with the service lines to make sure their vision is what we are selling; I'm working on proposals to make sure our clients are receiving the most up to date information. And at this very moment as I feel overwhelmed, I'm writing a blog about being overwhelmed. :)

So, how do I skim the top of all these projects, and still dive deep enough to create impact? I'm still working on that part. For now, I will continue working with my team to deliver on all our promises.

Question for you... is it better to under promise, over-deliver? or to Offer the moon?!

*Note to self: Used 7 Cliche's. Re-read first Blog post.

Super Social Sapphires - SAP marketeers know what they're doing

I attended my first ever SAP event known as SAPPHIRE in 2009. I had a great time. I was used to the way Oil & Gas trade shows worked, and this was my first cross-over event into Technology. If you're gonna do it, an SAP event is the way to go. Once you look beyond the unlimited Monster Energy Drinks, fancy coffee bars, and pretty little sandwiches, you get to see the energy that the conference holds. Different from 2009, I'm seeing the event managers stepping up to the social media market.

I already knew SAP was on the radar for one of the most "engaged" brands (right up there with Dell and Starbucks - wow). But I didn't quite notice it last year, like I do now. (This could be my own growth in the social media space.) Either way, these guys are doing a great job.

A website alone isn't enough anymore. You've got to be on Twitter, Facebook, and blog consistently about your activities. Gone are the days where people have time to read the entire event manual at once. We apparently like tid-bits of information at different intervals of the day. Like toddlers.

It is my job to make sure all the sales guys are engaged with the latest and greatest SAP marketing schemes we and the delivery teams come up with. I sent an entire newsletter all pretty, and jam-packed full of information. Once I sent it out, I get questions like: So, who's going? What are we presenting? Do we have a speaker? What is our giveaway?... grrrr... all things of course are in the newsletter I just sent out.

So, I might just have to step out of my old school ways and make these guys follow me on Twitter instead. But I'm sure I'll just get questions like: What is twitter? Do I have to get a facebook? Can you take a picture of me? ...all things of course are answered in my blog...

But, if you're reading this blog, then you are obviously ready to enter the new realm of communication. Congratulations. If you're one of our salesguys and you've seen this, then you my friend are AMAZING.

I'll eventually break through, no worries. In the meantime, catch up with these SAP Marketeers on all their different social media outlets. If the SAP Geniuses are reading this, please stop by booth #3121. I'd love to meet you!

http://www.twitter.com/SAPPHIRENOW

http://www.facebook.com/SAPPHIRENOW

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2855549

...and yes, of course I'm already a fan!

Cowboys Go Social: Rodeo Houston gives traditional media the boot

Last I checked, the Rodeo Houston fanpage had nearly 80,000 fans. This pretty much kicks the pants of other fan sites from in and around Houston. This fan base even beats the Houston Texans, who have a respectible 50k fans. The only major Houston fan pages that are above the Rodeo Houston's 80k (and growing) fan base is the Houston Astros and the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rodeo has been in exhistance for 78 years, but their fan page is a wee FIVE MONTHS OLD! Seriously. This means that the page has grown 16,000 fans per month. That's nearly 600 fans per DAY. This is an amazing feet for any organization.

What I find personally awesome about this, is that I actually met the PR/Marketing Director Johnnie Westerhaus in a web promotional class about five years ago. She was the lone ranger with one(ish) web designer just learning how to enter metadata so people could find the rodeo line up. A few weeks later, I met Leroy Shafer at a direct mail association conference. He gave the history of the CRM system for HLSR, and how its evolved throughout the year.

I was drinking the kool-aid from that moment on. I have to admit my boots have had more dust than dirt on them, I could never pull off one of those awesome rhinestone belts, and most people can't even detect a Texan accent. I'm doing this cowboy nation zero justice, but I've got to be HLSR's biggest fan. And a fan because of their business (and mine) of marketing. These guys really know what they are doing. They have gone from posting non-searchable PDFs on their webpages, to eighty thousand fans of their facebook, twitter, youtube, mobile contest, and an incredible innovative website in just a few years.

You may have never thought of turning to the cowboys for your how-to guide of social media and marketing technology... but its definetly time to take notice. 
*My companies fan page Atos Origin North America is 200 members strong after almost a year of promotion. Maybe we should be more closely related to the Houston Rodeo? :)

Is my blog flat lining?

I have absolutely ZERO excuse for not blogging in the last month. I have been extremely busy with the Atos Origin Executive Forum for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. (Ok, MAYBE a little bike riding with our CEO in Stanley Park) But what was I thinking? Because of where I was and the fan-fare around it, I should have been blogging non-stop. But my twitter was low, my blog was dead, and the facebook fanpage had zero entries from myself. (Thank you Queen Victoria)

But this is my own blog, so I can virtually pick it up and put it down whenever I like. Or no? The way I see it, people read the news or the "blogs" when the blog comes to them. I'm not exactly sure I've got any avid readers following me day after day (little creepy maybe). My vision is that people see the news feeds on twitter, have their google alerts all set up, and they check my blog when it happens to cross paths with their favorite searches.

Can I get a witness? Anyone hear me out there?

THAT SAID: I wouldn't read a blog entry or give it any credit if it were only one every 6 months. I wouldn't "believe" that person, or wouldn't feel such company or brand was creditable. I am very web-design-update-biased.

So basically, I believe everyone is like me and shouldn't deviate from my blogging patterns.

Signed,
#FullofMyself

Simon Says Rachel is Awesome. Right?

Seriously. I pride myself on googling eveyone, everything I meet. (I've probably seen your kids photos on facebook before your grandma does). Maybe I shouldn't be proud of it, but sorry, that's just how I roll.

So I google, search, and tag everything to come to me automatically. Then of course, Simon Elliot had to go and mess up everything for me.

Apparently, the Atos Origin Scientific Community has gone off and created a Social Networking Track. I really thought I was on top of this! Sheesh. But honestly, I can't say how proud and excited I am of this crew that this is finally off and running.

Simon says, "Rachel has a practical marketeers knowledge of social networking that will prove invaluable in the build up to Q4 this year."

Why THANKS Simon! What an honor. I'll do my best in being as social as possible.. wait, is that what you want? :) I kid, I kid... Now, lets see who can find this blog entry now that I'm on the Scientific Radar! Thanks guys, I can't wait.

Rachel the Scientific Genius* can be found at: 
www.twitter.com/atosRachel
www.twitter.com/AtosOrigin_News
www.facebook.com/AtosOriginNorthAmerica
www.vancouver.atosoriginblog.com
*The confirmation of Rachel's Genius-ness has never been proven nor implied by Atos Origin.

"Best" Videos? Says who...

This CloudAve blog link originally came to me from Twitter. I'm really into looking at videos these days, as we just bought our first video camera and are currently setting up the template guidelines for film and production.

CloudAve sites these videos as the "10 Best Enterprise 2.0 Videos and Presentations in the last month". First, where did they get these videos? How were the recommended? How were they rated? Are they based on content? Because they surely aren't based on time and effort put into production.

So I wonder... is it really necessary to go through all this trouble of production? Do people really listen to the video, kind of like a pod cast, and not really even look at it? It sure would be nice to know... especially if these videos can make a Top 10 list and be so amateur.

Of course, I like the Salesforce Chatter presentation, mostly because its FLASH, and not really a video. And I sure do like that voice over... nice.




Not only is this video awesome... Its like an EPISODE. While things like this are hilarious to me, are they good for business? Is this kind of production worth the effort? In my book. Absolutely.



That said... this is more the route I'd like to go. HILARIOUS in my book. It gained the most attention when it was actually "withdrawn" for being risque. In the world of viral video, that is GOLDEN.



and for good measure: www.youtube.com/atosoriginus

Marketing people will one day, rule the world

... ok, maybe not :) BUT-- I was impressed, yet again to hear that another Marketing MBA has risen! Dave Patzwald, who holds an MBA in Marketing, is the CIO of Schneider Electric. (read more about Dave) He has re-branded his IT department. By hosting parties, filming funny videos, and giving his team a creative environment to work in, Patzwald has been able to make his department a little more "human". Read all about it in this week's CIO Magazine Making IT Fun Again by Kristin Burnham.

But Dave... where is your Twitter? Where is your blog? A guy with these great ideas and momentum should take advantage! Don't let us IT marketeers down! :)

If you have your google alerts all set up, or you've had your daily dose of ego surfing, I hope you find my little blog, and have uploaded your video to YouTube. Send me a tweet, and let me know where I can see it. Either way, well done. I'm glad to see you're thinking ahead!

Hey Twit! I'm a Facebooker!

I did it! I'm an official twitter-er. (tweeter?) I think I've actually got the hang of this... and if I'm successful at my first official business TWEET, then @aurisauris will answer my request for someone with the Houston Chronicle Spanish section to write about Sergio Banuet, our latest transplant from Mexico! Wait, that sounds like a medical operation... he was the VP of Mexico Operations, but is now heading up the Houston Business Developement for Atos Origin. He is very engaging, I hope we get some face time!

I've also been able to locate some of the Houston Business Journalists, some people from the Chronical. FINALLY, I get to see some personality in these people to see how they would like to be approached. It looks like some people were forced to open a twitter account, but only sent one shout-out, thats it. Some have really got the hang of it and even have some LV purse connections... nice!

check me out. My tweets are to the right. ------>

Our facebook group is here

I too, have twated