Notes from the Hive

One evening, two great Social Media Marketing talents. This past Thursday night I was privileged to be a guest at EO24 where Chris Brogan and Peter Shankman sat in overstuffed living room styled chairs and spoke to a group of entrepreneurs from NY’s Chapter of EO.

Chris and Peter have such different styles that at first I was surprised to see them together but they worked really well with one another. It was apparent that they trusted and respected one another and I can only assume that they know each other personally as well. Chris is Mr. Mellow and Peter is – well, Peter is Mr. Hyper, both are polite and considerate, both have a wonderful sense of humor and generous mindsets, and both are icons to everyone in the Social Media Marketing and PR worlds.

Chris’s recent book co authored by Julien Smith, TRUST AGENTS is one that I put on the must read list months ago. I have given this book out to clients, prospects and attendees at my workshops. Social Media is so misunderstood and misused and this book is one of the best that I have read that delivers the message that the key ingredient to Social Media – is the SOCIAL! If misused as a broadcast system, you are sure to be frustrated with lackluster results and can even risk being shut out all together.

Some of the highlights or key points that they drove home last night are:

GROW BIGGER EARS. You should be listening to what is being said about your company, your competitors, your clients, and your industry. Peter shared a story about being stranded on a Delta flight and although he tweeted continually, called and reached out, no one from Delta was listening or concerned. However, Southwest contacted him and got a bus over to move the passengers to their flights and honored their tickets. So who do you think all of those passengers are going to book flights with next?

GIVE FIRST. Chris and Peter both encouraged that you give first and give value. If you want to attract attention your generosity needs to be real. Helping others is an open invitation to engage and build trust.
FORGET B2B or B2C. This is about people, not companies. Be a person, talk to people. It is people that make decisions not companies.

RESPOND. If you are listening, and people reach out to you, you need to respond. Developing relationships requires dialogue. Be polite, be real, and be gracious.

WE ARE ALL CITIZEN JOURNALISTS. Peter used this term and it is a powerful message. News is now transmitted instantly by pedestrians and product and service reviews are instantly generated by customers. Are you listening?

These are just some of the key notes from last night. To learn more – read the book TRUST AGENTS. I promise you it will be worth the read.