Photo credit: static

Education. When did we forget how important it actually is?

As soon as you deem education unnecessary, you are setting yourself up to be used as a tool for a brand or client. It’s not a partnership that is built on trust. The thing is? Agencies retain business (and earn more responisiblity) once a brand trusts you and your work. Why not bring them into the process? By building a foundation based upon you as a sole resource, you’re shooting brand efforts in the foot. You are inserting yourself as the only one who is “knowledgeable” on the subject, with no room for growth or for others to question.

True story: Imagine Person A saying they are worried they would be “cut out”, “lose leverage/dependance”  and “lose business” if they built upon an education model. Say what? It’s a mindset that might seem baffling, but is also rampant in numerous industries.

If we don’t educate, how do we know how to cultivate information, drive our clients to think of the right information and reach measurable objectives? It won’t work. Somewhere down the line, the brand will fail – and that thing Person A was worried about? It becomes a reality.

So how can an individual, and even an agency, overcome it?

Set education objectives

Agency
It’s great to have a team of people as the resource foundation – in fact, it’s encouraged. The great thing about a foundation is that one can build on it. Depending on a few people to be the go-to folks for knowledge isn’t a practical business approach. Everyone, no matter what level, should have a general understanding. That way, they can know what questions to ask and can eliminate a lot of busy work at the beginning of the process. Setting expectations shouldn’t be scary – even if trying to get buy-in can be. It’s very easy to absorb information through professional groups, social platforms and general networking. Management should encourage employees to be involved.

Clients
Clients should have goals too – and they won’t always be similar to an agency. Encourage brands to think past their budget year and what type of company they want to be in the next few years. A B2C company might be focused on consumer interaction and how that drives revenue. A B2B company might be thinking on how education can strengthen existing relationships. Each client will be different, and have different goals. It’s up to the agency to know what questions to ask and how to get them across the finish line. Sometimes, the agency-client dynamic is switching between the driver and passenger seat.

Benchmark through a rewards system

Buy-in is never easy. People are busy and learning something new is difficult. You can approach buy-in from a few different ways:

• Competitive angle: The competition is doing so and have improved their new business model
• Reassurance of time: It won’t take a lot of time, and is something clients/brands will benefit from
• Hybrid v. Specialists: Those that are able to take on hybrid roles can shift mentalities and strengthen clients – sometimes easier than a specialist

At any rate, incentive can help speed up the process. If a person can see a tangible, physical goal (as in an extra hour on a lunch break for completing education requirements or sitting through trainings) then they might be more open to it. In an agency, time is of essence. It has to be something that will be worth it in the long run – otherwise, you’re beating your head against a wall. A client benefit should be seen before jumping into the education process. That tangible goal also makes it easy to benchmark and see where progress has been made, and what areas need improvement.

Create a newsletter to share ideas

What’s the quickest and easiest way to share information? Sharing information. A person can still position themselves as knowledgeable by aggregating content important to not only the agency, but clients as well. An approach might be for a newsletter to go out every Friday to the agency with links to articles with explanations, as well as a link to your Delicious page. (We do this at FHKC)

Do people in your agency blog? Share those as well. From there, a person can create “passable” content to a client for them to absorb and read on their own time. It’s an easy way for them to absorb and buy-in at their own speed -and I can guarantee that most clients want to know what you’re up to and what type of approach you’re taking/learning from.

Aim to send them 3 links a week to articles/webinars

If a newsletter is a lofty idea, try to send articles, webinars and blog posts to your client on a weekly basis. If you have weekly meetings, try to set aside some time to discuss the takeaways and what they thought of the information. Don’t just send links, but bullet out some takeaways that can be understood and the importance seen before reading.

Ask opinion

A-S-K – because it’s going to make clients/brands feel important and involved in the process. If they don’t feel as if they are a partner, why would they trust you with their business? Education, trust and retaining business go hand in hand. Many consumers will go with a product that gets the job done, but that they trust and have always been dependable. That type of business model is why Apple struggled for so long (and once they honed in on a specific audience and built around it, they exceled.)

Measurement

Look, we all know how hot this topic is. Many agencies have an analytics department, or a team of people that are knowledgeable in the subject. Some even have one person for this job. But, if we have learned anything about how important education is – it’s that everyone should know how to do it in some capacity. Many measurement vendors have free webinars to discuss measurement – and folks such as Don Bartholomew, Chuck Hemann and Shonali Burke make information readily avaliable. Many vendors also have training webinars so that clients fully understand the product.

You can’t always depend on a person (or during a time crunch, a department) to solely be responsible for this information. To truly work as a team, instead of in silos, you have to find the value in education.

What would you add? How important do you view education – and is it something everyone should be aware of?

This is an honest question, and one I don’t really know the answer to. That’s what comment sections are for, right?

Traditionally, PR agencies (and agencies in general) would have one person in their position for a few years before promoting them. The thought there is to cultivate, learn and understand clients, atmosphere and industry before moving to the next level.

Lately, though, it seems that many people are being promoted quickly within their agency before they might be ready. Is there a set amount of years that a person should be before being promoted? No. However, the span of professional experience is becoming wider.

Take the account executive role as an example. I have friends that graduated college in 2005, going right into the PR industry. They are account executives at their agency. I also have friends that graduated in 2009 that are account executives. Both have the same amount of internships on their resume. See the difference? My question: Are we setting up people for failure by giving them responsibilities they aren’t ready for? Is social media contributing to this mentality (because a person can present smarts that might not be as deep as believed?)

Factors

Size of agency: Every agency is different, from their type of culture, to work ethic, to size of the office. Is this a factor in how people are promoted? It could be. Trust is a huge factor when it comes to client relations, bringing in new business and retaining them. Once a vacancy is there on a team, it’s up to the agency to view what client needs are, and see if the best fit is to a.) hire externally and look for best fit b.) see if someone internally is ready for a promotion or c.) rearrange team responsibilities so that the client still comes first.

Culture: Traditional agencies that have been around for awhile might focus on education and preparation, making sure that each person is set to take on new responsibilities. Boutique agencies might not have the luxury of grooming and focusing on building the foundation, and instead focus on the task at hand. Is one way better than the other? It depends on the type of industry and clients on your roster – but, the agency can’t forget that they are a business as well. You can’t cut corners around billable hours.

Size of agency: Trust is huge in any type of agency atmosphere, and its also why many promote from within. An intern is more likely to get an entry-level job than a random applicant. If there is a hole to fill, the smart move might be to move up a person who is familiar with the client. If the man power isn’t there, its highly unlikely that taking the time to train a new person will occur. An agency’s first priority will always be the client, and it’s better not to interrupt that cycle.

C-suite at agency: Who runs the agency?  I have met a variety of executives, and many tend to follow trends based on their generation. Is this always true? Absolutely not. Many C-Suite are also product of their prior management, and pick up habits/tactics from former employers. Is there one right way to manage? No – but the approach and mentality will always

Type of experience: This one can be a bit tricky, and usually is a matter of opinion. Even if a person only has one year of experience, it might be with top agency on a large global brand, which weighs differently against a smaller brand with two years of experience. Most experience is weighed based on personal opinion of the person in charge of hiring.

Social media: It’s very easy to come across as knowledgeable in this space because of how high level it can be. Reading tweets can only delve so much into the person’s mindset, and it’s never the right move to jump to conclusions and assume they “get it.” Do they have a blog? Check it out and see what type of thoughts/positioning they have. Base unique questions around things they have said to really get a handle on how much they understand. It’s also up to the person being interviewed to be honest with what they have done in the past and answer truthfully.

What are your thoughts? Do you have any other factors in mind? Do you believe that some are promoted too quickly?

Photo credit: hitmewithatext

First impressions count for a lot. But, on social media platforms, how much do we truly know about someone? How much do we know about behind the scenes? We are so quick to judge people based off interactions and how they present themselves. It’s such a small piece of the pie, but man, people jump to conclusions more often than not. We see such a small piece of someone, and much of the time, social platforms are like HS. Everyone loves to talk, and if they hear something, they run with it. We don’t challenge validation as much as we should. We don’t research into what people are stating.

People work hard to get where they are at, but we don’t ever see how much work might go into it. We only see what you choose to put out there. It’s easy to make assumptions based on who they are, who they interact with and who they work for. People have real friends on these platforms, but it looks like they are kissing up. Someone doesn’t talk to us at an event, and we take it as a personal dig. When are we going to stop, step back and actually ask ourselves why, instead of jumping to the how?

For example:

• Most of you will call me LAF. You’re not really sure why that’s my nickname. Even fewer know what my family nickname is.
• Many of you have heard me say live each day, no matter what. A few of you know why that is – & my love for #5. No one knows why I came to believe in miracles because of connection to that number.
• You all know that I blog about PR and social media. You might not know that I graduated just after turning 21. Or that I have a double degree.
• You know of my insane love for the Packers. Some of you know my mom is from WI. A select few know the real reason behind my fandom.
• You all know that I started #u30pro with David Spinks. A few of you know at what age we started it. None of you really know the reason we started the chat.
• Most of you know I’m Cuban. Some of you know my grandfather was a revolutionary. Most don’t know how much he influenced my political and government views. (Not classy to talk about that stuff on social. Think of it as your water cooler. I can’t even count the number of posts, research, etc. that points to why it’s a bad idea to talk about religion/politics in the workplace. Yes, public forums count.)

So, tell me: how much do we really know? How much information do you have before passing judgment? Many people will mold themselves into liking certain things, or having a certain opinion, just because others do as well. Some of us have lost passion along the way. In a digital space, we’re losing ourselves. Why? Sure, we represent brands. But as I always say: “It’s X Brand with a Lauren twist.” Your personality can still be there to mold and craft a community. So many tout that no one wants to talk with a brand. It’s a delicate balance, but as they like to say, a first impression is everything.

But are you conveying the right one? What are people really saying? Do you stop to think?

Let’s discuss.

LinkedIn. It’s used widely by business professionals to engage, connect and share information with one another. Many question it’s usefulness in the business world, even with new features such as Company Follow and Likes.

So how can you use it? Social Media is not about the platforms, but the ideas and concepts behind it. Platforms are used for execution. It’s all about how a brand approaches and where the audience is. Much of these four specific areas use examples from my current job, but can be applicable across the board.

Follow Sales Leads

So, awesome. You have a solid relationship with someone on a project or they use your company product. You call one day and someone else picks up the phone, “XX no longer works here.” Well, crap. Where do they work? We only had a professional relationship, with work email, phone and company.

You have to love the Internet and Google. Most will change their information at the request of the company left, and LinkedIn, as a professional site, is one of the first to be changed.

Example: If a solid contact/friend I have moves to a different agency, and they don’t use R6 (but want some type of software thats similar), that can be leveraged in the future – not through hard sell, but through relationships. If they are in need of SMM, they have a.) experience using it b.) a solid relationship c.) pre-seeded buy-in. It should be noted that just because software worked in a previous agency, it should mesh with measurable objectives at the new one. It’s not always a fit.

Follow Current Clients

We all like to follow brands. A pre-seeded brand follow might be more B2C and retail when it comes to LinkedIn, but from a business perspective, it can come in handy as well. By following brands, you can also follow personnel. You can see who has moved from agency to agency, who has been promoted, different clients they are working on (as most PR people list out the brands they represent.)

Example: Agency dynamic is unique in that the 30 and unders (SAEs and below) have an extremely high turnover rate. It’s not unusual to move from account to account as needed, to change agencies, to leave because it gets too tough. On the flipside, the execs don’t change as much, and when they do, it’s huge.

Network of Recommendations

Yes, LinkedIn can be used as a lead gen tool. The recommendations shown on your profile play a big role into the first impression – especially if your page is high on Google Search Results. Did you know LinkedIn also has DirectAds -  a feature that allows you to push relevant ads to targeted demographics in the entire LinkedIn subscriber base. It’s similar to ad targeting in Facebook or even Google AdWords.

Example: On the agency side, when I was interested in software or a product, I immediately Googled the company, then looked for testimonials. Many times, it lead me to a LinkedIn page – where I could see the connections/relationships, how long they had worked there and what type of experience they had.

Groups

Utilize Groups and LinkedIn Answers to gain “expertise points” in your specific category. Users tend to trust those that have the expertise, rather than the latter. You are not only engaging an audience and providing information, but your ideas and thoughts are being pushed into the News Feed of all connections. Talk about recognition and being seen by clients or people you work with.

Example: As a community manager, its imperative to be where the content is – no matter the platform. If people are talking about something, its important to answer questions that make sense.

So, what would you add? Do you agree/disagree? Let’s chat.

photo credit: science blogs

LAF Note: This guest post was written by Jason Falls. All together now: “Heh.”

When you face a communications breakdown, whether it’s between two people or even two companies, you can almost always blame one thing for the problem: Assumptions. There’s a reason for the clever reminder, “You know what happens when you assume?” (For those unfamiliar, the rhetorical answer is, “You make an A-S-S out of U and ME.”)

Think about the last time you had a spat with a friend. The problem likely stemmed from the fact you assumed she meant one thing when she really meant another, he assumed you were going to handle that part of the project or you assumed they would be okay with you bringing the third party along.

While the layers of complication are greater, company communications breakdowns are no different. Let’s say you are a public relations account manager and you want to approach a super cool, web start-up company with a partnership for one of your clients. You assume they’re interested in your client’s money so you make the calls only to be frustrated with a lack of response or interest.

What you didn’t know is that the web start-up business model has nothing to do with finding revenue from advertising or corporate sponsorships. Web start-ups normally are interested in driving members, not revenue. Their end-game is to sell to a bigger company for millions, not sell ad space for thousands.

You know what happens when you assume?

I’ve had a friend frustrated with me before that I didn’t respond quickly to a direct messages she sent me on Twitter. But her frustration went away when she realized I was on a four-hour flight without access, or perhaps in a client meeting with my phone and computer turned off. Assuming I’m sitting at my computer with Tweetdeck up monitoring my direct messages all the time … you know what happens when you do that?

Probably the best business advice I ever received was a basic tenant of good communications: Think like the other guy and you’ll be more successful dealing with them.

The, “walk a mile in their shoes,” approach gives you a different perspective on the conversation, negotiation or situation. It helps you see why your message wasn’t clear, didn’t persuade or fell short in accomplishing what you were looking to do.

So the next time you’re frustrated with the lack of response, upset with someone for their attitude or something they said, step back, remove emotion from the equation and put yourself in their shoes. Consider factors other than their intent, or lack thereof. If you do, you’ll quickly find fewer communications breakdowns in your own relationships, personal or otherwise.

Jason Falls assumes this post will be useful for you. If not, you can file complaints with him via Twitter (he’s @JasonFalls) or on his blog at SocialMediaExplorer.com.