Wake Up Sydney!

It seems the world is finally changing from the inside as per the quote from Eckhart Tolle.

I am so happy to see that contribution not wealth is becoming an objective and motivating a large collaborative mindset that we can all succeed from, as opposed to compete within, from both a business perspective and life perspective. Technology has fuelled this desire and ability for humans to connect, share and collaborate in whole new ways. People power is certainly rocking countries and establishments and things are changing and they won’t go back.

David Armano in his recent post promotes the development from social media to social business , he is a well known futurist and is of course completely correct in the way that business needs to aim for this new operating model. That said, business, establishments and governments are holding on for dear life to long held views of yesteryear.

We hear them and their advisers, saying social media is just another channel, that Twitter and Facebook are just broadcast mechanics to be dealt with like any other media. What they don’t get is whether you think social business, or not, we need to think social world.

That is exactly where society is going with a whole new consciousness as Gen X find new ways to find meaning in their world beyond the office and the establishment.

The people are reaching out and connecting and they are not watching and they are not waiting – Cluetrain Manifesto

Is the end near for Traditional Advertising

Is it a Yes or No? Tell me your views?

They think if they have a large number of Facebook fans it is an audience, yet when you look at the stream, there is little conversation on it. Or on Twitter – lots of tweets just dropping into an echo-chamber, with no re-tweets or conversations going backwards or forwards, except often customer complaints! Ouch!

Here are a few rules of building an audience:

• Find opinion leaders and true customer advocates in your field who have a strong digital footprint.
• Use socio-behavioural techniques to this.
• These advocates should be very few and they will have a 3 C profile – Connected Credible and Charismatic
• Engage them in a personal manner
• Be clear what you want these opinion leaders to do for your business

Let it go and see what happens

By Nigel Lopez-McBean

A Gen Y colleague used the term “Real Journo” in an recent email. It got me thinking…what is a “Real journo?” It would be safe to assume he was referring to a staff writer or freelancer for a major news corporation. No problem with that.
It’s interesting that even Gen Y’ers still hold the traditional media hacks in some sort of mythical esteem hence “Real journos” I’ve always had a more sceptical view of what constitutes ‘real journalism’ especially in Australia, “land of the free, home of the media cartel fighting for advertising dollar.”

It’s estimated that approx 60%- 80% of everything that appears out of major news corporations online and offline in Australia is written, sourced, researched by a PR person.

It lands on news desks as a pre-packaged product. The media then clip, cut and post it with their name attached. Job done. The media release is the original user-generated content. When you add into the picture syndicated stories from overseas and the growing number of opinion pieces from the public published by major corps and you begin to get a picture of how ‘real’ local journalism actually is.
I’ll give you an example: Over the last few years, very quietly the citizen journalist has begun to surpass ‘real journos’ in one key area. Sports reporting. Yes, really.

Australian sports fans have been angry for years about the limitations of the major publications. Try being the Herald Sun in Melbourne and reporting objectively on the AFL when access to players and administrators form 90% of your entire sports coverage and your readership is interested in little else. Write an investigative piece on the AFL, see how far it gets past editorial and business management. You need them more that they need you.

Sections of the media are owned by single entities.

Add the complication of advertising dollars from the AFL and If you are a serious sports fan, bloggers and online community are your only source of genuine opinion or unbiased analysis. The same goes for all of the major football codes. The Sydney media has the same devils contract with the NRL.

However the resistance is gaining ground with sites like www.theroar.com.au using content from frustrated major corporation writers and citizen journos and providing them with equal billing. Opinion egalitarianism of sorts.

So what is a ‘Real Journo?” – I would say one with the freedom to write without looking over his/her shoulder.
The digital age is producing plenty of these – You.

The more in charge of your own online PR engagement you are the better your coverage and the better your results. The tools are already there it’s about using them. No looking over your shoulder required.

Jim is one of my favourite geeks because he speaks in a non-geek language to us mere mortals!

We are currently working with Jim and as part of the work program have implemented a Yammer solution for one of our clients to take over their Intranet system, rendering it obsolete. It is a great solution, far more cost effective than a clunky Intranet, easy to use and the collaboration, team spaces, instant chat Facebook style, document creation (move over Google Docs) and more!

In the interests of sharing and teaching other clients the benefits Jim has produced this video. Watch & Learn!

If you want more information on the work we doing with Yammer and also projects we are doing with Stewart Media – just shout out here and we will get back to you!

ANZ The SBHub Blog Team

The other thing you can do to get involved is register on the site, but also join their Small Business Hub Linked In Group and start sharing, promoting your own business and really getting connected.

So PROMOTE & CONNECT YOURSELF!

PROMOTE & GET CONNECTED

I have had it with Vodafone, we spent our holiday dealing with an Indian call centre and threatening bills in the thousands for data charges we had no visibility over, no control over and we had really tried to avoid this by buying two data bundles at the huge cost of $400. Insane and now a TIO case. The TIO stated in their 2011 report

“There has also been an alarming increase in the number of consumers with high debts because they could not monitor their usage adequately, the majority using mobile phones,” Mr Cohen said. Of the 10,469 issues reported to the TIO about inadequate spend controls, 7,844 were exclusively about mobile services – an increase of 119 per cent compared to the previous year.

“It is in everyone’s interest to make sure there are effective and easy-to-use monitoring tools available to consumers to track their own usage. Service providers should also monitor customers’ usage and notify them if they are accruing unexpectedly high bills to avoid people not being able to pay their bills and facing credit and debt collection problems as a result,” Mr Cohen said.

Could we resolve this issue easily – NO. The customer service we received was so bad, so time consuming and so dreadful. When we looked to another supplier,  our friends and colleagues tell us on Facebook every mobile provider is rubbish (albeit Vodafone is cited as the worse of the worse, here in Australia AND in the UK).

I read an article by Michael Winner, while in the UK, whiling my time away with Vodafone Australia’s indian call centre…Michael said “Who says we get happier with age, I am getting more grumpy” As a restaurant critic he says one his favourite remarks to a waiter is “Could you send a search party to the kitchen to find my main course”…The waiter goes away saying “Grumpy old sod” and of course he is quite right. Why shouldn’t Winner be grumpy when left sitting waiting endlessly for a meal. One of his better examples, that I can completely understand is restaurant receptionists, “Do you have a reservation in a surly contemptuous voice as if you are a non-person if you don’t!”

Why shouldn’t we complain if the meal we get served is awful?

Why shouldn’t we complain if Vodafone try to rip us off on data charges that are daylight robbery?

Why shouldn’t we complain when we can’t get a shop assistant to help us in David Jones?

Why shouldn’t we complain when we have to deal with robots on customer service lines?

Why shouldn’t we complain when you deposit a lot of money in your savings account, which states “here to make the most of your money easily” and they can’t answer their “Always Open” telephone line? ….just listen to music and listen while we tell you in an automated patronising voice how to make a desposit ….(Yes UBank its you)

Why shouldn’t we complain when our major telco can’t get one bill correct in any one month over a 12 month period.

Yet when we dare to complain our complaints are met by an aghast sigh and/or an attitude of “here we go a difficult customer”and/or a foreign call centre that hasn’t a clue.

Seriously that is why half these companies and brands are frightened of Twitter, Facebook and social networks. People like me are getting grumpier and grumpier and they are telling everyone what the real promise is behind the brand BS.The real promise is really really bad customer service and it is getting worse across the board.

No pics no flowers no hearts – here is what you need to tick off if you want success because often the ideas that win are never grand

1. Make it simple

2. Solve a problem ….your audience, maybe they are time poor – save them time, maybe they are just wanting to find that thing – give it them without the bullshit marketing, etc – give them what they want

For me as a small business owner – I DONT want ebooks or information, I don’t have time – I want leads, I want to promote myself – create that for me – I will be with you

See what I mean

3. Don’t believe more numbers = more business

Less is more these days – deep connects, better more meaningful relationships and a form of reality will help you win

Big or small business – there is one rule to follow KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID – KISS

Here is the good – top virals of 2011 from Ad Age here

The bad from eConsultancy here

And to end the year with more research that shows our dearly beloved Marketers don’t get social media (or maybe don’t get their audience) all here

I am sure there will be more lists to come.

Truth is

1. Clever creative works whatever the channel – The Good

2. The bad – don’t patronise the audience or try to lie

3. Marketers  - well 2012 maybe your worse yet. Clients are waking up to the public and starting to realise maybe marketing has to change, just like the rest of many industries.

Just think about it, you wouldn’t be planning to open up a shop selling cameras next year would you? Maybe you shouldn’t be trying to set a marketing campaign using the usual next year either

Have a great Christmas and here is to some refreshing new thinking for 2012