Conversational Media Marketing

Some time ago I mentioned being selected, along with some 274 others, to participate in the sequel to the wildly successful The Age of Conversation. The sequel is something Todd Andrlik called "the most massive authorship undertaking in history. We’re talking Guinness Book baby!"Needless to say, I was more than happy to participate.

The book officially launches tomorrow today, Wednesday, October 29, and is available for purchase at Lulu.com. The goal is to raise over $15K for charity. Why don't you be one of the first to pick up a copy.

Following is a tidbit of my contribution to the book...

During BlogWorld and New Media Expo I was fortunate to be included in an interviewee for the Solutions Stars Video Conference, sponsored by Network Solutions. I was excited to be invited for one very specific reason, the video conference is designed to benefit small business looking for marketing intelligence, especially online marketing and social media. (You can see a sneak peak here.)

Due to the demands of their jobs and tightening of the purse strings, particularly now that the economy has gotten tough, it’s not easy for a small business owner to attend a conference in person. Network Solutions innovative idea was to bring the conference to the business owner instead via the use of video. Best of all, no registration is required! Just show up on Oct. 29th!

Here's the official blurb...

On October, 29, 2008 from 1 p.m. until approximately 3:30 p.m. EST. , Network Solutions will present a series of videos and live discussions featuring 32 of the world's leading business and marketing experts. The live video conference will coach small business owners and entrepreneurs on how the Internet can benefit their business. Nine content areas featuring vignettes of the Solutions Stars will run during the conference:

• Building Web Presence
• The Social Opportunity
• Start with Listening
• Strategy Drives Outreach
• You Need Social Networks
• To Blog or Not to Blog
• Visibility Through Search
• Rising Above the Noise
• Time Demands

Video participants include:

• Tim Ferriss, Best Selling Author of Four Hour Work Week
• Guy Kawasaki, Co-Founder, All-Top
• Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos
• Darren Rowse, Author, ProBlogger
• Chris Brogan, Vice President of Strategy, CrossTech Media
• Rohit Bhargava, Author of Personality Not Included
• Wendy Piersall, CEO of Sparkplugging.com
• Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger, Dell
• Brian Solis, Author of PR 2.0, CEO of FutureWorks (FutureWorks)
• Steve Hall, Publisher and Editor of Ad Rants
• Scott Monty, Global Digital and Multimedia Communications Manager, Ford Motor Company
• Liz Strauss, Social Web Strategist, Successful Blog
• Toby Bloomberg, CEO, Bloomberg Marketing
• Lee Odden, CEO of TopRankMarketing.com
• Jason Billingsly, Co-Founder ElasticPath
• Robyn Tippins, Community Manager, Yahoo! Developer Network
• Brett Tabke, CEO of WebMaster World
• David Alston, Vice President of Marketing, Radian6
• Jason Falls, Blogger, Social Media Explorer
• Mari Smith, Relationship Marketing Specialist
• Jennifer Openshaw, president of WeSeed.com
• Matt Dickman, Vice President, Digital Marketing, Fleishman-Hillard
• Ryan Anderson, Community Relations, Overlay.TV
• Becky McCray, Author, SmallBizSurvival.com
• Warren Whitlock, Book Marketing Strategist, BestSellerAuthors.com
• Chris Baggott, CEO of Compendium Blogware
• Lorelle VanFossen, Author, Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging
• Dave Taylor, Head Strategic Marketing Director, Intuitive Systems
• Paul Chaney, President of International Blogging and New Media Association
• Linda Bustos, Blogger, ElasticPath
• Jay Berkowitz, Author , Podcaster, and Keynote Speaker, Ten Golden Rules

Attendees will be able to watch individual videos based on their content area preference or view the conference in its entirety. While the videos are streaming, viewers will be able to chat online with the Network Solutions team (Social Media Swami Shashi Bellamkonda and Now Is Gone Author Geoff Livingston), or participate in a live public chat. Select video participants will also be in the chat.

Teaming with ooVoo, a popular online video chat and conference network, Network Solutions will run the "Solutions Stars Video Conference" on October 29.

Please visit the "Solutions Stars Video Conference" event pages on Facebook and Upcoming:

• upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1200021

Use this hashtag (What's a hashtag?) in Twitter to follow the Solutions Stars Video Conference discussion: #solutionsstars

I enjoyed so very much having the opportunity to keynote at last week's REBarcamp Houston. I want to pass along my thanks to Michael Price, President of ML Broadcast, for putting it together. (Oh, and Mike, the receipts are coming!)

Here are some video and photos of the event for your enjoyment:

I had the opportunity to chat with Hilary Marsh, who oversees Realtor.org at the National Association of Realtors about a new position they're opening up -- social media manager.

Regarding the decision, Hilary stated two precipitating factors:

1. "The communication can happen without us or with us," she said. By hiring someone to lead this initiative, NAR has decided to enjoin the conversation in a more proactive fashion.
2. She and an associate have been trying feverishly to tread these waters, but that it is more than they can handle given the duties of their real jobs. Hence, they're offering a someone the opportunity of a lifetime.

I was reviewing the notes I took during New Marketing Summit in my trusty Moleskine and decided to pass a few of the gems along to you.

What is new marketing? (Michael Lewis, President, Business Marketing Association of Boston)

• New viral, internet-based marketing
• Mix of old and new to reach more elusive, empowered customers
• More than technology
• Listening and dialog, not broadcasting - Listening is the new marketing
• Better to measure the right things than everything
• Extends beyond the marketing department
• Goals of marketing have not changed

The World Wide Rave (David Meerman Scott, author of New Rules of Marketing and PR and his new book, World Wide Rave)

• You must unlearn what have learned
• Old rules pre-web: Buy your way in with advertising; beg your way in with PR
• New rules: Publish your way in directly!
• Think like a publisher, not a marketer
• On the web, you are what you publish

(David also gave me some excellent, sagely advice on getting my book published. Thanks David!)

Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and his brand new book Secrets of Social Media Marketing really got down to brass tacks in terms of providing more how-to information. And he made reference to how small businesses can and are using these tools.

Brian Halligan, President, Hubspot (talked about SEO as it relates to social media marketing)

• Brian was high on SEO, less so on PPC
• Think like a publisher he said. Content is vital!
• Next new hire in the marketing department should be a journalist/writer, not marketer
• Be ubiquitous (I like that word; use it alot) - Use blogs, video, podcasts, photos, PRWeb, forums, directories, etc. to spread your message

Last week I, along with Bizzuka CEO John Munsell and SVP of Sales Charles Lauller attended the New Marketing Summit up in "Bahston." Bizzuka was a sponsor and exhibitor.

The experience brought with it a number of key takeaways, but the one that sticks with me the most is the impression I get that "new" marketing (i.e., social media marketing) is "becoming mainstreamed."

Note, I did not say "has become mainstream" or even "becoming mainstream." Social media marketing tactics and tools are coming into more popular use to be sure, but I think full integration is still at least a couple of years away if not longer.

For example, when you consider that only 15 percent of Fortune 500 companies incorporate blogs into their marketing/PR mix, that's telling.

That's in spite of the eMarketer article which, based on report, suggested that " the lines between blogging and the mainstream media have disappeared." (You should read Read Write Web's assessment, which outlines in detail why blogging is yet to be mainstream.)

What I learned from the New Marketing Summit is that social media is coming alongside other, more traditional marketing channels to serve as an adjunct, not a replacement.

I believe the summit was designed to not only generate awareness of the need for and benefits of using social media, but to help formulate an understanding of how it fits into the overall marketing mix. And speaking of mix, MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer, being held later this week in Scottsdale, will likely echo that same refrain.

Bottom line: The evolution taking place in the marketing world is not that new media is strictly a disruptive force, but that it is maturing to the point of becoming both accepted and expected. As I said, "becoming mainstreamed."

What's your assessment? Do you agree?

Michael Price and the folks hosting REBarcamp Houston extended to me an invitation to keynote at the day long event. Of course, I accepted.

REBarcamp takes place Wednesday, October 22nd. If you're a Realtor in and around the Houston area, make plans to attend. It ought to be a fun and informative time.

I'd like to announce that I've been invited to become a member of the advisory board of the Womens Wisdom Network, an organization started by real estate consultant and coach, Terri Murphy.

The Womens Wisdom Network is an "online learning and resource network offering information, mentorship, guidance, and entrepreneurial expertise to women in business." It's designed to help women "find, develop, reignite, and refocus their power to achieve personal and professional growth."

I'm happy to do my part to help women in business achieve their goals and would like to encourage any businesswoman to become part of the organization.

This week Bizzuka CEO John Munsell, SVP of Global Sales Charles Lauller and I will be heading to Boston for the New Marketing Summit. Bizzuka, the company I serve as internet marketing director, is a sponsor and John will be speaking on a panel dealing with content management systems. (Bizzuka is a CMS provider designed for use by SMBs.)

It is no small feat for Bizzuka to be there, as it is the first time the company will appear on what, essentially, is a national stage paired next to other well-known CMS companies such as Ektron, Crownpeak and Sitecore. (Well-known to some at least.)

The beautiful thing about it all is that we would never had the chance had it not been for our engagement in social media circles. That's the only way the folks at CrossTech Media, the company hosting the event, would have known about us. So, score one for social media and one for Bizzuka as well. (Chris is also the emcee for the conference.)

Keynoting at this year's event are none other than David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and the soon to be released book, Secrets of Social Media Marketing, and well-known blogger Chris Brogan. (Chris is also serving as emcee for the event.)

If you happen to be in the Boston area, why don't you make plans to join us. The event takes place Tuesday and Wednesday, October 14-15, at Gillette Stadium. Visit GoNewMarketing.com to learn more.

I hope to blog the event, perhaps via Utterli, but we'll see.

Some of you know I've rolled out a new "brand." I'm calling myself the "social media handyman." Actually, it was a moniker that MarketProfs Ann Handley anointed me with after requesting some help with her A N N A R C H Y blog. Ann said she needed a "handyman" to do some work on the blog. I got the job and the handle stuck. Truth be told it's a perfect fit.

Ann has also extended an invitation (drumroll please) to blog at MarketingProfs Daily Fix as the handyman. I'm pleased to join an illustrious cast of bloggers including Mack Collier, Paul Dunay, Lewis Green, Valeria Maltoni and a number of others. To say that her invitation made my day is a huge understatement and I cannot tell you in just a few words how appreciative I am to be given this opportunity.

Not only that, I'm taking the handyman brand to Active Rain, the phenomenal real estate social network. You may know that I blogged there previously and they have welcomed me back with open arms. Again, I'm very appreciative to be rejoining that group and look forward to the opportunity.

Plans for building the brand also include an email newsletter containing tips and practical advice on using social media for marketing purposes. More to come on that.