Looking for a 3D speaker, trainer, motivator or engine? Call 630.207.7530.

Turn On Wired PR Works via RSS

Category: Marketing

SOBCon 2012 Pivot with Purpose then Karaoke

Posted on May 9, 2012

SOBCon-mastermindOver the weekend, I attended my fifth SOBCon, the successful online business conference. With only 144 people in the room, the two day conference is about as transformative as it gets. To see what I mean, you’ll find links to prior SOBCon coverage at the end of this post.

Were you at SOBCon 2012, too? Please share links to your posts and images so that we can keep expanding!

Much of the magic comes in the way of mastermind time with small groups. On Friday, I interacted with Drew Marshall, Debba Haupert, Will English IV and two representatives of a digital marketing firm in Mexico. That’s me with my Saturday small group: Andy Crestodina, Laura Fitton aka @Pistachio, and Marc Pitman. Gary Goldstein is not pictured. Along the way, conversations at lunch and during breaks kept the SOBCon synergy flowing.

So good to experience SOBCon with Chris Garrett, Becky McCray, Sheila Scarborough, Barry Moltz, Beth Rosen, Connie Burke, Steve Hall, Lennie Rose, Michelle Damico, Jeannie Walters, Jeff Power, Jeff Willinger, Jeff Shuey, Sean McGinnis, Shashi Bellamkonda,Amber Cleveland, Justin Levy, Molly Cantrell-Kraig, Kim Eierman, Ric Dragon,Derek Overbay, Mark Horvath, Lori Holton Nash, Nick Kellet, Phil Gerbyshak - and everyone else in the room! One person many of us really missed this year: Lorelle Van Fossen.

It’s amazing to me how Liz Strauss and Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie can keep the conference feeling so comfortable and familiar, yet so fresh and inventive, year after year.

Equal parts reunion, revival and reawakening, SOBCon is an experience that everyone needs to have at least once a year. I agree with Shashi Bellamkonda who compared the conference to an annual oil change.

SOBCon 2012 focused on mastering the 7 crucial steps of strategy and execution — Vision, Mission, Position, Conditions, Decision, Networks, and Systems — to create and leverage opportunity that is uniquely tuned to your business, its competencies and its goals.

Every year, my SOBCon experience is different. After the first one, I got off the train in Glen Ellyn literally buzzing with positive energy. And, I always say, “This was the best SOBCon yet!” Although, this year I really mean it. Here’s why.

People

For me, the people in the room are a good barometer of the quality of a conference. Are they smart, creative, friendly? SOBCon is all of these and more. The culture is invisible, yet indelible.

Throughout the room, tables of six to eight or so discuss models in a mastermind session that forces/inspires you to make progress based on the input of the brilliant minds around you.

Then, there is the speaker line up: all excellent and best in class who present at a high level, yet interact at the same tables as peers. The program is built around a presentation that introduces a model with smaller talks woven in. Here’s what we covered.

Vision & Mission: Setting the Intention and Getting the Attention, How to Claim Your Quest and Attract the Best to Join You: Tim Sanders

Position: Assessing Where You Stand and What You Value, How to Use Two View of Position to Build a Solid Value Proposition: Rick Turoczy

Conditions: Working with Trends, Cycles and Change, How to Find the Profitable Opportunities: Les McKeown

Decisions: Raising Bottom Line and Improving Influence, How to Use Decisions to Reach Goals, Motivate People and Attract Opportunity Panel: Carol Roth, Laura Fitton, Gary Goldstein, Angel Djambazov

Networks: Connecting with the Right People, How to Build Your Community and Forge Strategic Relationships: Steve Farber

Systems: Processes the Run the Business, How to use Metrics, Such as Net Promoter, to Keep Customers: Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie

How can you balance better?

Liz Strauss, big thinker that she is, opened the program by asking us if we were unbalanced. Um, yes, we are. At times, Liz speaks as a poet – or my notes from her presentations come out that way.

Balance is form and function.

Architects, strategists know about balance.

Balance helps us experience trust.

If you’re not balanced, there comes a fear that you might fall over.

If you can’t trust, you will experience fear. Fear is the mind killer.

How can you balance better?

Are you building a birthday cake or a business? Liz Strauss

Think about it: are you following a recipe or are you being fluent, flexible, original and elaborative?

What is your higher purpose?

Tim Sanders challenged us to think higher and more purposefully. Your base purpose is about you: you have a family to feed and a business to run to do that. Your higher purpose is either your secret sauce or your missing ingredient and there is zero gray.

You have to have three things for success:

  1. a higher purpose
  2. passion for the purpose
  3. focus to put the purpose in the center so you always know the why behind the what

Real enthusiasm comes from a sense of meaning. Enthusiasm drives purpose and engagement.

Your purpose doesn’t have to be original, but it must be organic, it’s gotta be in your DNA as an enterprise.

Tim’s grandmother says, “When you get on lost something, play Bible bingo. It’s your fortune cookie.” Here’s the verse he found when he was looking for his purpose.

“Promote good works and acts among men, especially as we gather in public and encourage others to do the same.” Hebrews 10:25

Never forget you have to apply more purpose to get more engagement. True happiness comes not from self-gratification, but by defined focus on a purpose.

“If you believe in something and you translate that into hard work, you’ll find an audience that believes in you,” said Brian Solis, a surprise SOBCon guest speaker who dropped by for a 15 minute chat.

What position are you in?

Rick Turoczy says your position is where you are now. Are you being brutally honest about it?

Position helps you commit your vision to action.

There is no weak position. There is only weak positioning.  There is strength in every position.

Think about your position and spin it positively. Think about where you are and where you go from here. Positioning is each step and changes constantly. Every opportunity or failure can change your position in new and interesting ways.

Pivot or Persevere?

Pivot, yes you may take a drink, was SOBCon’s most frequently used theme word. There’s something about the word that resonates and gets people to respond. Is it easier to pivot than to change? Here’s an example of pivoting.

Instagram started as an app called bourbon.com and was supposed a competitor of foursquare. It was one of the first apps to do future check-ins, but the only thing people used it for was photography.

What the developers wanted didn’t matter as much as their position with the people who used their app did.

So the founders did what’s called a “Zoom In” pivot where you take one feature from an existing product, and retool the entire product around that one feature. Source

Patterns and Decisions

Les Mckeown says every organization goes through 7 stages: early struggle, fun, white weather, predictable success, treadmill, the big rut and death rattle.

Early struggle is the search/race for a profitable, sustainable market.  Going bust is bad. Typically takes a business three to five years to go through the early struggle phase and 80% of all businesses don’t make it. What stage is your business in?

How easy is it for you to make a [good and decisive] decision?

Carol Roth did an excellent job of moderating a panel discussion about how to use decisions to reach goals, motivate people and attract opportunity. Here are a few quotes, for more see the “Most Memorable Things Said at SOBCon list” at the end of this post.

Laura Fitton: People see a brick wall and stop. Being an entrepreneur is running into the brick wall confidently. The vast majority of people stop themselves. If you’re trying to make a decision, turn away from fear. Respect that some decisions do need to be put on the back burner.

Gary Goldstein: Scary times are simply an expansive of capacity. Make a decision that you’re going to be proud that you make because of the outcome.  Relationships trump results. Collect excellent people.

Carol Roth: Make decisions that are right for you, not for other people. Have a very, very clear lens on what you want, based on your own circumstances and objectives. What’s at your core is what matters.

Angel Djambazov: First make a decision list – write them down. Schedule a time to make decisions. There is such a thing as decision fatigue. Confront decisions when you’re not fatigued. Always ask: who can help you work through this decision? When it’s all stuck in your head, it’s hard to focus. Figure out what information you need to get to a decision point. Go for a drive and get pie. If you don’t have a decision making model, every decision is harder. Having a yes/no framework will drive your business growth.

Love, Love, Love

“The act of leadership is an act of love.”  Steve Farber

In his presentation, Steve said we’re all the business of building a body of work [BOW] and then broadcasting it: this is who I am.

When you start to broadcast your body of work, people are going to respond. When they do, pick up the phone and contact them personally. Then introduce them to each other and ask how you can help them.

Steve says every major business opportunity, for him, started with one phone call.  He’s hosting an Extreme Leadership Conference in August in San Diego.

Continuing with the theme of connecting and relationships, Chris Brogan interviewed his father, Steve Brogan and his mother, Diane Brogan, about building an online community.

Process Systems

Terry  went over the keys to great customer feedback.

1. do it consistently – schedule it

2. do it personally – get feedback short and to the point

3. ask the right questions – the raw materials of the right question: experience with the product or service, experience with the people behind the product or service, the overall brand and company experience [through the Ultimate Question]

4. get feedback that would make the experience better and identify things that are of less importance to the customer

Ultimate Question

On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend this product or service to a friend or a relative?

0-6 Detractors – people out there saying bad things about you

7-8 Neutrals – neither ready to bail or jump for joy

9-10 Promoters – those literally telling you they are ready to shout to the rooftops for you [the evangelists]

Other inspiring speakers: Charlie Gilkey, Sammy Haroon and the Empire Avenue team.

Karaoke

In all the times I’ve been to SOBCon I’ve always skipped the Karaoke part. By the time Saturday night rolls around, it seems like I’ve been on a three-day event party wagon – and I have! This time, I decided to go and check it out after Shashi’s dinner party at the Star of Siam, also a first for me.

Even with much urging from Xan Pearson, I didn’t sing, but Miss Lori, Pistachio, and many brave others did. Phil Gerbyshak was the first to take the stage with an amazing group of back up singers. Don’t miss SOBCon Karaoke in 2013!

Can’t wait until May 2013 to go to SOBCon? Check out SOBCon Northwest “Starting up Strategically” in Portland, happening on September 28-30.

SOBCon Blog Post Archive

SOBCon08 Notes David Bullock: Business Development Action Plan

SOBCon08 Notes Chris Garrett: More Bang from Your Blog

SOBCon08 Notes | Liz Strauss How to Be Irresistible

SOBCon08 Notes Wendy Piersall | When Your Business Takes Off

SOBCon08 Notes | Chris Brogan: New Media Communities

SOBCon08 Notes Brian Clark: The Triple A Model for Social Media Success

SOBCon08 Notes Anita Bruzzese: Managing Your Online Reputation

SOBCon09 Biz School for Bloggers – Prelude, Postlude, Futuredude

Trust Agents – Chris Brogan and Julien Smith – SOBCon 09

David Bullock: Barack 2.0 SOBCon09

Brian Clark: Power Positioning-Get a Personality SOBCon09

The Image Studios-the Importance of Presence-SOBCon09

SMC Chicago SOBCon Event 2010

Royalty Leadership and Loyalty

SOBCon 2011 Models Teams and Tables

Disclosure: Thanks to SOBCon for providing Social Media Club Chicago board members, including me, with complimentary passes in exchange for the opening event planning and promotion.

 

3 Comments - Posted in Marketing Tagged with: , ,

Gravity Free Outlaws and Icons Design Inspiration

Posted on May 7, 2012

jer-thorp-gravity-free“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Steve Jobs

What do you design? Communications, marketing, interiors, cuisine? Recently, I had the opportunity to be in the company of many who call design their profession.

The world’s only multidisciplinary design conference, Gravity Free: Design that Opens Minds, took place in Chicago on May 1 and 2. Gravity Free’s 2012 theme, Outlaws and Icons, celebrated individual designers who break the rules, ignore the boundaries, reject the norms and rewrite traditions in the pursuit of game-changing ideas and personal passion.

With a jam-packed program of inspiring presentations, here are my notes from a few of the presentations I attended.

Brian Collins, brand and experience designer

Collins is most known for is the design of Hershey’s chocolate factory and retail store in Times Square. Originally hired to create a simple billboard, Collins and his team instead created a Willy-Wonka-esque 15-story factory complete with smoke stacks that belch colored steam, 4,000 blinking bulbs, and glowing candy-bar brands.

Brian says brands make a connection between promise and performance. To explain this connection, Brian asked us to close our eyes and visualize being on a ship in 1768 on a sunny day. The seas are calm and we are excited to see our family after being away at see.

When we opened our eyes, here’s what we saw:

” pirate-flagThe pirate flag is a brand promise. When you see it, you’re f_____ed,” Brian says.

Two things happen when the skull and crossbones flag goes up. Passengers on the cargo ship think Help! Here come the pirates!! On the pirate ship, sailors yell “ARRGH! It’s time to act like pirates!”

The brand promises performance.

When Brian came up with the Hershey Factory idea in Times Square, the concept was to build an historic building as a magical place. The store did so well that they opened one in Chicago.

“Don’t think of yourself as a problem solver, think of yourself as a problem seeker. Look for challenges to overcome.” Brian Collins

 Javier Mariscal, multidisciplinary designer

“Javier Mariscal is a polymath who can, literally, put his hand to almost anything,” says IDFX magazine. A multidisciplinary designer hailing from Spain, Mariscal works in underground comics, illustration, mural painting, sculpture, graphic design, interior design, textile design, furniture design, and animation. Despite the rise of computers in his nearly four-decade long career, Mariscal remains loyal to the simplicity of pen and paper. In 2010, Mariscal drew and co-directed the animated film “Chico and Rita,” which was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. Mariscal is a recipient of the National Design Prize of the Spanish Department of Industry and the BCD Foundation grants in recognition of achievements throughout a professional career.

Presenting from his studio in Spain via Skype on a huge screen, Javier’s presence loomed larger than life. If you want to make an impression at an event, offer to speak via Skype – on a huge screen. In his presentation, Javier ran through many animated videos that kept the audience amused.

“Everything must change everyday. Everything is in movement, even if you’re sitting in your chair, the world is still in movement.” Javier says.

When asked “if you could do something different than what you do now what would that be?” Javier said he would be Marilyn Monroe or Jimi Hendrix. How would you answer that question?

Disruptive Design in Action

During the question and answer session with the other panelists, Javier shared pictures from his iPhone. Clearly, he stole the show. And, nobody minded, not even the other panelists.

My favorite image? The one of the skeleton head with flowers. Why? It looked so cool when Javier put a cigarette near the skeleton’s mouth. This playful, inventive – and yes, disruptive, spirit is what the best designers bring to the world.

Vincent Leclerc, lighting and performance designer

Vincent Leclerc is co-founder of ESKI, a Montreal-based studio that engages audiences with lighting and interactive technologies. The studio used PixMob, its wireless lighting technology, to give an emotionally-charged experience at a 2011 Arcade Fire concert.

Vincent talked about multiplicity, emergence and collectivity.

“We’re the geeks behind the freaks.” [advertising agencies, artistis and producers.] Vincent says of his studio whose projects include 21 Swings, interactive swings with light sensors that play music at Place des Arts in Montreal.

Collectivity can be interpreted as what if we scale up instead of down and use the crowd as the medium. Group behavior supersedes individual behavior.

People become ambassadors of the experience. Vincent uses technologies for crowds. He’s working on a docking system that goes into a smart phone to create an experiment to build momentum, using the phones as an interface.

Three things Vincent’s projects do:

1. Be bold and quick

2. Challenge people and throw things at them like beach balls

3. Add a dash of magic so that they have to wonder, “How in the hell does this thing work?”

Ivan Brunetti, comic book artist

Ivan Brunetti makes dark, misanthropic comics that channel taboo-laden subject matter — making his adoring readers gasp with relish. Brunetti was born in Mondavio, Italy and moved to Chicago in the 1970s, always with a reverence for comic book art. Spin magazine writes, “Brunetti’s self-loathing and seething disgust is so unrelenting that it begs a simple question: What the hell is wrong with this guy?” He’s contributed cover designs for The New Yorker magazine, and he is also the editor of “An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories.” Currently, he teaches classes on comics, drawing, and design at Columbia College of Chicago.

Ivan never went to art school. He grew up in Italy. From the ages of 4-6 he copied Disney comics that his parents put on the wall. One day he came home and all the drawings were gone with no explanation.

Note to Parents: tell your kids where their art projects are going after you take them off the fridge. It’s the right thing to do.

Ivan says copying cartoons is a good way to learn. Notice where you deviate and this will tell you about your style. Drawing every day helped him simplify and tap into his unconscious drawing. Charles Shultz is one of his greatest influences.

Two quotes I liked:

“Step back and look at the matrix, architecture and form of your life, go beyond the moment to moment.“

“Remain unreasonable until the world bends to your will.”

Ivan collects toys that have a sense of being alive. About cartooning, Ivan says, “It’s strange how you can take ink, lines and stories and make them come alive in your head.“

Jer Thorp, data visualization

“The art itself is the software — not the charts that come out of these things, but the actual programs that I distribute into the world,” says Jer Thorp, data visualization artist. “Data visualization is often a very serious business, with assorted constraints and restrictions that typically apply to scientific pursuits,” Thorp says. “As an artist, I’ve felt that I can leave some of this objectivity behind and create work that has less to do with legibility and communication and more to do with aesthetics and concept.” His work has been featured by The New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, and The New Yorker. He is currently Data Artist in Residence at the New York Times, and is an adjunct Professor in New York University’s ITP program.

Jer started out by showing us hand-drawn data illustrations that mapped out characters and super hero stats – by a 10 year old.

Who influences you?

Bill Atkinson, of Apple, was one of Jer’s earliest influences. Atkinson wrote a programming language called HyperCard that allowed people to write programs for Apple computers. People shared their programs the old-fashioned way, via floppy discs sent in the mail. This is the last time that a computer shipped to the public with software that allowed people to write computer programming.

Jer says the New York Times uses data from twitter to develop graphics around their 7,000 pieces of content published every month. For instance a “just landed” map shows where people are traveling and models in real time human traffic. In these mapa, science, design and art come together.

How do things get from point A to point B on the Internet?

Cascade graphics help us to understand what sharing systems look like. For instance, the biggest spike on twitter around a story called “But would it make you happy?” came when @zappos tweeted the link. The story was about people who pared their possessions down to 50, including shoes, silverware, etc.

Social networking is embedded into the data. Shares are important touchstones embodied in the data. The embedded narratives build our personal histories.

Open paths is a new location based project. You can store your data privately or donate your data to researchers.

Jer says each location point represents a fixed moment in our lives. Pieces of data make up our lives and our collective histories. We have to think about how numbers relate to people; numbers come from humans.

“Data is the new oil, the new resource. How can we protect it in a really thoughtful way? Designers can push the conversation forward,” Jer says.“Pick anything to study and you can get to a level that’s interesting. “

In this TedX video Jer says,“The world of data will be transformative for us by bring the human element into the story, I think we can take it tremendous places.”

Gravity Free Food Design Competition

After lunch, the designers went to work transforming food into artistic creations with captions.

View my Gravity Free food design competition images. gravity-free-food-design-competition

On my way back to the parking garage, I came across a flash mob dancing in the street. Stopping traffic is downtown Chicago is disruptive.

Dancing to “Born this Way,” the group offered a short preview of Columbia College Chicago’s Manifest urban arts festival. I couldn’t help thinking that one day one of these students would be on the Gravity Free stage.

Post icon image: Jer Thorp presenting at Gravity Free 2012.

Disclosures: Thanks to Gravity Free 2012 for a full conference pass. Our daughter is a music business management student at Columbia College Chicago.

Your Turn: Who or what inspires your design creativity?

 

0 Comments - Posted in Marketing Tagged with: , ,

8 Superhero Super Powers that Save the Day for Small Business

Posted on May 4, 2012

avengers-movie-superheroesInspired by the opening of The Avengers today, today I’m challenging you to be a Superhero. You don’t have to wear a cape, fly through the air or leap tall buildings in a single bound to be a Superhero. Just use your super powers.

How do you define a Superhero?

8 Superhero Super Powers that Save the Day

1. Extraordinary powers and abilities, relevant skills, and/or advanced equipment

Product . . . What’s so special about what you can do? Take inventory of your powers and abilities in relationship to the relevance to your client’s situation. How does your product, service, delivery, consulting give them super powers of their own?

2. A strong moral code, including a willingness to risk one’s own safety in the service of good without expectation of reward.

Values . . . While real rescue heroes put their life on the line as part of their daily work, business owners usually accept some risk in exchange for a reward. However, building your relationships on a strong values-based platform will differentiate and dignify your company – along with your clients. To attract higher-caliber clients, how can you be more upfront about your values?

3. A motivation, such as a sense of responsibility, a formal calling, a personal vendetta against criminals, a strong belief in justice and humanitarian service.

Ethics. . . Living out your values in your client relationships keeps you focused and motivated. Having a sense of responsibility or a calling complels you to report for duty everyday.

4. A flamboyant and distinctive costume, often used to conceal the secret identity

Branding . . . Are you a standout? Can your customers see you in a crowd? While it’s not necessary to conceal your secret identity [unless you really are a character], you do need to be recognized as the leader of choice in all of your communications. How you present yourself in person is important, too. Consistency is the key here; you want to look good whenever you’re in front of your public.

5. A trademark weapon

Competitive Edge . . . How do you fend off your competition and remain the uncontested, undisputed champion? First, you have to win a lot of matches on many different arenas that may include personal sales, page rank, recognition, awareness and pricing. Don’t be afraid to lose the price war, especially if what you have to offer is an exclusive opportunity to work with you. What competitive weapons do you yield?

6. An “origin story” that explains the circumstances by which the character acquired his or her abilities as well as his or her motivation for becoming a superhero.

History . . . Where did you come from and how did you get here? A company history, including each key team member’s bio adds character and credibility. Plus, no else can copy your company’s unique corporate bio fingerprint.

7. Most superheroes usually work independently. However, there are also many superhero teams

Strong independent who works collaboratively . . . Being a self-reliant independent worker is a must for small business owners, but working alone can be lonely and less productive. Building collaborative and referral relationships expands your reach and influence – and often pays off in value-added services your clients can’t get from your competitors. Who’s on your superhero team

8. Be fast!

Note: While the first seven come from a popular post first published in 2007 and based on Wikipedia’s definition at the time, this one is my addition and may be the most important. How fast can you fly? There’s no time to waste when your client needs rescuing from losing time, money or customers.

 

Where would you find opportunities to go above and beyond the call of duty? How would you describe your rescue operation? Who do you help, when, where, why and how?

 Image source

 

2 Comments - Posted in Marketing

Social Media Club Chicago and SOBCon Team Up For One Night!

Posted on April 25, 2012

SMC Chicago SOBConIt’s so phenomenal that it only happens once a year! On May 3, Social Media Club Chicago will host SOBCon’s opening event. As an SMC Chicago board member, I’m thrilled to invite you to join us!!! Pick up your tickets at the SMC Chicago SOBCon event site. Want more details? Here’s what you’ll find on the invitation site.

Social Media Club Chicago and SOBCon Event on May 3 at Loyola Chicago’s Kasbeer Hall

Thought leaders from around the country and the world will be gathering in Chicago on May 4-6 to attend SOBCon, the Successful and Outstanding Business Conference.

On May 3, SOBCon and Social Media Club Chicago will connect for an epic night of networking, socializing and learning.

Panel Moderator: Dean Donald Heider [@donheider], Loyola Univeristy Chicago’s School of Communication

Donald Heider is the first appointed dean of Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication. Dr. Heider is an award-winning broadcast journalist and joined Loyola from Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. In 2011 Dr. Heider was elected vice president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC) and will serve in that postion until 2012, when he will become president-elect and then president through 2014 of the non-profit, educational association composed of some 190 JMC programs at the college level.

Join us at Loyola University’s Kasbeer Hall [25 East Pearson] to hear this power panel of leading thinkers/SOBCon speakers.

Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss is a brand strategist and social web community builder and is perhaps the most influential “real-ebrity” on the Internet. Liz has over 20 years in print, software, and online publishing, and has strategized with publishers in Europe, Australia, the UK, and Ireland. She was recently a featured speaker at the Cass Business School of City University in London and teaches a Master’s Level class at the CityU School of Publishing. She has been named to the Top 100 Social Media & Internet Marketing Bloggers, The Invesp Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008 and again in 2009, the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women of Social Media, and NxE’s Fifty Most Influential ‘Female’ Bloggers. The WordPress Plugin Liz Comment Counter by Ozh was named in her honor to celebrate her dedication to responding to the readers of her blog.

Terry Starbucker

Terry is a native Midwesterner now living on the East Coast, spreading ìrealistic optimismî through a philosophy he calls “Half-Fullism.” He’s been in the business world for over 25 years in various leadership positions, most recently as a senior operations executive for a service business based in the Rocky Mountain west. Terry is a constantly learning student of leadership and personal development, and shares his ideas, experiences and knowledge through his blog, Ramblings from A Glass Half Full.

Carol Roth

Carol Roth is a business strategist, recovering investment banker and author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Entrepreneur Equation. She has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete more than $750 million worth of M&A transactions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals and create million dollar brand loyalty programs.Carol is a frequent radio, television and print media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, appearing regularly on Fox Business, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and more. Additionally, Carol’s blog at CarolRoth.com was recently named as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online and she was named a 2011 Top 100 Small Business Influencer. Carol is a contributing blogger to outlets like The Huffington Post and Crain’s Chicago Business/Enterprise City and is the only business strategist with a fashion doll made in her likeness.

Tickets include program, beer or wine, and light appetizers.

Preview the party: take a look at the SOBCon SMC Chicago 2011 video!


About SOBCon

SOBCon is the Cirque du Soleil of business strategy events. It’s an interactive think tank that moves ideas to action — packed with business strategies and social media immersion. You will walk away with new ideas and the energy and network to implement them.

The theme this year for Chicago 2012 is Creating and Leveraging Opportunity: Strategy and Execution. We’ll be discussing and applying qualitative and quantitative critical thinking. We’ll focus on the seven keys to strategy and execution: Mission & Vision, Position, Conditions, Decisions, Networks, and Systems. Each presentation, model, and mastermind session will change the way you see yourself and your business. The interviews lined up are stellar (no kidding). The interactive sessions will keep you in the room.

Look forward to more wisdom and thought-provoking questions from these successful and outstanding business people–Tim Sanders, Rick Turoczy, Les McKeown, Katherine Burdick, Carol Roth, Laura Fitton, Rick Calvert, Lisa Horner, Gary W. Goldstein, Steve Farber, Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie, Liz Strauss, and a few others that will be equally outstanding!

For more information, or to register, for SOBCon, visit http://sobevent.com.

SMC Chicago Sponsorships

Social Media Club Chicago relies on sponsors to provide quality events. Our sponsors receive exposure to thousands of connectors via email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Plancast and more! If you are interested in sponsoring a future SMC Chicago event, please contact Jeannie Walters at jeannie@360Connext.com.

Social Media Club Chicago Chapter

Social Media Club [SMC] is a worldwide organization, with local chapters, that serves as connecting organization for anyone interested in social media. Membership is free and open to all levels, including beginners. Chicago’s SMC chapter, launched in October 2008, presents events that mix socializing, networking and learning. Event attendees include entrepreneurs, corporate communicators, journalists, business professionals, publishers, marketers, media creators, citizen journalists, students and technology types. For more information, visit http://smcchicago.org, email smcchicagonews@gmail.com, follow @smcchicago on twitter, or call 630.207.7530 or 312-970-0846.

Social Media Club Chicago Board Members

Barbara Rozgonyi [@wiredprworks], Founder

Jeff Willinger [@jwillie], President

Amy Korin [@interactiveamy], Volunteers

Jeannie Walters [@jeanniecw], Sponsors

Carolyn Martin [@cm_socialmedia], Communications

Planning to go? Let us know so we can look for you there!

1 Comment - Posted in Conferences, Events, Marketing Tagged with: ,

Art of Marketing Highlights

Posted on April 25, 2012

randi-zuckerberg-taomBecause I had a marketing mastermind group meeting to go to first, I missed the start of The Art of Marketing. I wanted to meet Keith Ferrazzi and ask him to sign the book we’re both in: Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars. But, I missed his presentation. One of my friends thought she spotted him so I went up and asked if he was Keith. “No, but that’s a really good book!” non-Keith said. If you were there, feel free to add a link to your review or share your thoughts in the comment section.

Seth Godin

When I first moved to Chicago, one of my friends often commented that I must be wearing “weirdo nip.” The strangest people in the room seemed attracted to me, for some odd reason. And, that was okay with me. Characters fascinate me. According to Seth Godin, it’s better to connect with weirdos than boring people.

Seth’s slides were entertaining, thought provoking and laugh inducing. Like every other speaker, he asked for crowd responses. Getting people to raise their hand keep them listening and engaged.

He challenged us to do something that feels a little nutty and culty. For example, LittleMissMatched.com is a company that sells three socks that don’t match for $10. Their revenues increased from $1 to $40 million.

A Few Key Points from Seth Godin’s Presentation

  • Tribes bring people into alignment. Nike invented the $1 billion tribe of suburban athletes. [Note: Husband is running 84th marathon this weekend. Buy victory surprise.]
  • The wrong way to think about marketing: how am I going to buy some list or use social media?
  • The right way to think about marketing: Where do I find people who are waiting for me to lead them?
  • Tip: Boring people are not a good market. Freaks and wierdos are a better market.
  • The jobs of the future are something we call art. This is how it works: Human beings make up an answer to a problem that touches people as art.
  • If failure is not an option, then neither is success.
  • Just because the tide is out, it doesn’t mean there is less water in the ocean.
  • Don’t strive to be heard when you’re here. Work to be missed when you’re not.
  • Your job is the best platform you’ve got to touch people and connect.
  • We need You to lead Us.
  • Doing things that don’t make sense is what art is about.

Seth says if you want to write a book, and you should, read The Domino Project  blog first.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary’s energy lights up the room. It’s like taking a dimmer switch up to high power, bringing in a bank of flood lights and then – what the heck -  let’s open the rooftop and let the sun shine it, too.

Because I’ve written about Gary before, [including these posts Gary V day in Chicago and Gary Vaynerchuk Affiliate Summit West keynote] and I’ve watched lots of Gary V videos, Gary’s message sounded familiar, yet new. It’s kind of like hearing your favorite band play their best set list with a few fresh riffs here and there.

Gary came off the stage to talk to the only guy in the room who didn’t have a cell phone. Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a cell phone?

Gary doesn’t use slides, but he doesn’t need them.

He says the Internet is the biggest culture shift we’ve ever lived through.

Gary talked about spending money on ads: “Why throw money at a platform people won’t ever consume? People aren’t looking at billboards, they’re not even looking at the f______ing road.”

He believes Twitter search is the most powerful marketing product out there. How often do you use it?

If content is King, context is God. Getting context right is critical.

If you want your customers to love you, you have to love them first.

Gary’s thank you department is his offense. His customer service department is his defense.

When a customer asked Gary about the ROI of social media, he asked “What is the ROI of your mother?” Think about that one for awhile . . .  where would you be without Mom?

A huge proponent of scaling by caring, Gary’s company often sends thank you gifts. How to decide what to send? Watch what they say on twitter. When Gary sent a signed Jay Cutler jersey to a Bears fan, the gift resulted in multiple referrals to wine buyers.

Check out Gary Vaynerchuk’s wine reviews on Pinterest.

Mitch Joel

Mitch talked about five[ish] concepts including the one screen concept: the only screen that matters is the one in front of your customers. We’re moving to world without a keyboard or a mouse. And, people are consolidating the number of screens they watch from three or four into one or two.

Another dramatic and powerful shift is in the way we pay with apps like Square. This company’s vision is “no more cash registers.”

Mitch said if you’re wondering where to start with marketing, begin thinking about your brand’s narrative. Use the platforms to tell your story.

Check out Mitch Joel’s blog, Six Pixels of Separation.

Randi Zuckerberg

The only woman speaker, Randi brought a sunny sense of energy. She is a new mom of an adorable son who is already extremely dashing in a suit with a bow tie. New moms are among the biggest users of Facebook.

Randi took us behind the scenes at Facebook where 4,000 people work. It sounds like such a fun place!

Facebook holds 24-hour hackathons to generate innovation and inspire creativity. For example, a giant QR code on Facebook’s roof now lets you scan the code with your smartphone from an airplane. Do you think other companies have roof QR codes?

Randi told us who not to be on Facebook: an obsessive food blogger, the crazy cat lady, every second live sports updates, bridezilla, or the person who uses Facebook as Google. All of these examples were hilarious and would be fun to spoof. Can you think of any others?

Randi Zuckerberg’s Social Media Trends

Randi ran through a list of trends she’s seeing in social media. Here are a few you may want to watch.

  • The Sharing Economy for people who want to have a richer lifestyle.
  • People as platforms and media brands. “Every single one of you is a media company that can reach thousands of people with everything you say.” This concept is amazing and horrifying to brands.
  • People as curators, Check out Donna Zuckerberg on Pinterest
  • Interest lists on Facebook. You can now create a list that people will follow.
  • Gamification of Everything

An entrepreneur, Randi’s company is RtoZ Media.

The Customer Experience Side of the Art of Marketing

My SMC Chicago board member colleague, Jeannie Walters, wrote an excellent review of The Art of Marketing from the customer experience perspective on her blog at 360connext.com. “It’s going to be more work. The days of thinking “I’m done” after publishing an ad, white paper or even web site are over. You are just beginning. Stay involved.”

Were you at The Art of Marketing? What did I miss?

Disclosure: In exchange for offering a discount to wiredPRworks readers, The Art of Marketing is provided two complimentary event passes.

7 Comments - Posted in Marketing